Fate
by RedMenace
Summary: A crossover between Ranma and O!MG, set in the future of both. The scars of the past cannot be undone; they can only be repaid.
1. Chapter 1

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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Among the Appalachian foothills there is a small valley untouched by time, and down in the valley there are many trees, and in the trees is a single, ancient clearing, kept clear of the wood by inhuman hands long before the rise of man. There is a firepit there, and it is always warm with the last embers of the last fire, as if it were half-put out by unattended campers. And every night when the moon is new, and all things shrouded in darkness, come the storytellers to trade tales of what they have seen in the cosmos.

As the sun set on the night of the new moon, the flames rose up in anticipation of its guests. Tonight there were four who came out of the deep shadows and sat around the fire. "It is your turn to share a tale, moondragon. What have you seen since last you spoke?"

"Amusing things," a silver-haired man replied, "one which makes for a good story. A story of justice, for a change, rather than tragedy or heroism."

"A story of balance?" another of the four said, warming her hands by the fire.

"Yes, balance," he replied, "for this universe is so constructed. Let me tell you this, for it is important. Everything in that universe is run by a great computer, which measures all things and sees that all actions are balanced, all wrongs redressed, and all good deeds go rewarded. It may not seem like that, and sometimes it seems to the mortals of that world that justice is denied, but it can only be delayed, not denied. That is the power of the Ultimate Force, which moves all events to its master plan. Let me tell you a story of what happened when justice is long denied..." He trailed off and paused, concentrating on the fire. Soon a scene appeared among the flickering flames, a rainy day in a city somewhere. "Perhaps you have seen this before, or something similar. A martial artist enters a city with a young girl, because of a promise to unite two families-"

"Ranma," the girl interrupted. "I was once engaged to one."

"Indeed? A story for another night, perhaps," the storyteller said, irked at the interruption. "It is Ranma, yes, but it is not Genma..."

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The rain was really pouring in Nerima, Ranma thought, and she looked at the heavens and sighed. Perhaps this was a sign, an omen, that everything was doomed to turn out the same as the last time she was here, everything descending into chaos, destruction, and misfortune. On the other hand... there was no other hand. If it got too hot, she'd pull her daughter out in a red-hot minute. Ranma had no wish to become her father, a man uncaring of the harms of his children.

"Chiyeko!" Ranma said, looking at her daughter. Chiyeko Saotome was a teenage girl, a year older than Ranma had been when he - or rather she - had entered Nerima, so many years ago. She had inherited her face from Ranma, along with her graceful movement and physical gifts, but there was much there that disresembled her martial artist parent. Skin of bronze, tanned flesh, and hair of shining flaxen white gold; in these things she resembled Ranma not at all, indeed, everywhere they went in Japan she had the problem of prejudice against half-gaijin ancestry. It was almost enough to have reconciled her to the long loneliness of the road on their training journeys, but not quite. Still, she was sulking.

"This really sucks, obaba," she grumbled, soaked to the bone. She splashed noisily through puddles. "I never got to date anyone in my whole life, you drag me on the road for my whole life like some kind of psycho, and then you tell me I'm engaged to some guy I never met before." Really, she felt like hitting Ranma, if it weren't for the fact that hitting Ranma was like trying to catch steam with chopsticks. "Not only that, but I'm going to meet this guy soaked to the bone."

"What do you want me to do, stop the rain?" Rama said, snorting. She was soaked to the bone, too, but in much better spirits. Soon she would be speaking to old friends, what for her passed for old friends, at any rate, and maybe she could get some help. "We're here," Ranma announced, coming to a huge set of wooden doors. She pounded on them. "It'll be good to talk to Kasumi again," Ranma said idly.

"I do hope her son isn't a pervert," Chiyeko grumbled.

"Why would you worry about that? Kasumi's the nicest person I know, and her husband is almost as nice. I don't think you have anything to worry about, there." The door creaked open, revealing a woman in her mid-thirties.

"Ranma!" Kasumi said, a smile on her face as she looked at the redheaded woman. "You're taller than when you left, that's for sure. And this must be little Chiyeko," she said, hugging the small blond girl. Kasumi pushed her back out to arms' length and laughed. "You look so much like Ranma did at that age."

"Really?" Chiyeko said, surprised. "Most people tell me I look nothing like my mom." Kasumi blinked slightly at the word 'mom'. Chiyeko glanced at Ranma with a frown. "For which I'm glad, usually."

"Hey!" Ranma yelled. "Disrespectful brat!" She smacked her daughter in the back of her head.

Chiyeko rubbed her head. "It ain't like I don't like you, obaba, but well, you're about the least feminine woman on earth." She suddenly grinned sheepishly. "I'm kinda afraid it rubs off or something."

Ranma nodded. "Apology accepted." That she was the least feminine woman on earth in the eyes of her daughter was definitely something Ranma could live with. "Is Akane home?" Ranma said, half in dread and half hopefully.

Kasumi nodded. "She is. She just finished sparring with Atasuke a little while ago. Come inside and dry off." She glanced at Ranma for a second before looking back to Chiyeko. "You two would probably prefer a hot bath before meeting everyone else, right?"

Ranma shifted uneasily. "I don't really need one." Kasumi's pained expression was noticed by Chiyeko, who wondered what was going on. Her mother was passing up the opportunity to soak in hot water? Chiyeko wondered.

"I'll take you up on that bath," Chiyeko said enthusiastically. Kasumi led the duo inside and pointed out the bath to the young girl.

"You go ahead and take a bath. Ranma can bring your things to the guest room," Kasumi said, handing Chiyeko a towel.

Chiyeko, for her part, stepped into the bath, sprayed herself down with cold water, and dropped herself into the furo as fast as she could. "Ahhh," she said, luxuriating in the steaming water. Hot water. It was a rarity on the endless training journeys her obsessed mother insisted on bringing them on, so both she and her mother cherished it where they found it. Her mother always said that hot water brought back memories for her; that was why she was surprised that her mother turned down a hot bath.

"What kind of memories, obaba? Memories of my father?" she had asked once in a bathhouse.

Her mother seemed on the verge of tears and looked down through the steamy water at her reflection. She started crying. "Yes. Memories of your father."

Since that day she'd never brought the subject of her father up, though she was dying of curiousity inside. She'd never seen her mother cry before or since, and she never spoke of him. She would have figured that he was dead, except her mother was adamant that she'd meet him someday. Still, she wanted to know about him, and she thought that she might be able to get some information out of the Tendos, or maybe one of the other friends her father mentioned who lived around here. They knew her mother around the time she was born, so they would probably know about her father, too.

She resolved to ask Kasumi about it tonight.

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"It's nice to meet you, Atasuke-san," Ranma said, smiling, as she observed the young man who would be her daughter's fiancee. His chi flows showed he had excellent control over his emotions and a decent amount of training, better than Akane had been when she had first entered Nerima, at any rate.

Atasuke Ono smiled and put down his cup of tea. "It is nice to meet you, too, Ranma-san. My aunt Akane has always spoken highly of your skill in the art." Atasuke put on his most winning smile and kept himself calm. Akane had always told him how uncannily skilled Ranma was in the art, and he didn't want her to get any hint of lust in his aura. That would be difficult, though, as she was soaked and the silk shirt was plastered to her skin, and she was probably one of the best looking women he'd ever seen, up there with Principal Ninomiya-san. Even the eyepatch she wore over her left eye merely gave her a look of adventure and mystery. If her daughter inherited any of her mother's looks, a lot of his private misgivings about this arranged marriage stuff would go away.

Then Chiyeko entered the room. She was dressed in a black silk blouse and a skirt loose enough not to interfere with her martial arts. She walked over to Ranma and sat down, looking cautiously at the three strangers across the table. That Akane woman looked very strong and experienced in the art, but Chiyeko figured she could take her down in a full-out fight with the special techiques and intense training Ranma had put her through. She looked at the boy then, and smiled. He wasn't too bad looking, she thought. Perhaps she should just pretend he was a friend of the family or something, not an arranged fiancé. She could get him to take her out on a date or something and for once she could act like a normal girl instead of some sort of young clone of martial arts obsessed Ranma. She scratched her head. How should she introduce herself? "Hello, I'm Chiyeko Saotome. Nice to meetcha."

"Ha!" Akane said, "You're almost as impolite as your father!" Ranma shot her a dangerous look.

"You mean my father's as rude as the obaba?" Chiyeko said, her tan skin turning white. "I'm doomed!"

Ranma waved it off. "Don't listen to her, you're very polite." She caught Akane's eye and shook her head. Later, she mouthed.

"Only compared to Ranma," Akane said. "Your father was amazingly blunt and rude, and the biggest pervert in Nerima. Except for Happousai, of course," she added as an afterthought. Ranma glowed with a low grade battle aura and made shushing motions to Akane.

Chiyeko, on the other hand, sprung to her feet in anger. Her own battle aura filled the room at the insult to her father. Even if she never met the man, she knew that couldn't possibly be true. "My mother would have never loved a pervert, you jerk!" she yelled, pointing to Akane. Kasumi's potted plants started to wilt and wither as Chiyeko's black and red aura darkened as Chiyeko's thoughts turned dark for a second. Maybe her father hadn't loved her mother, maybe she had been... and that was why her mother never married.

Akane automatically felt herself getting angry. While she knew that she shouldn't be yelling at the girl, who obviously knew nothing of Ranma's exploits, she needed to defend herself. "Your father was chasing four girls when he was your age!" Akane yelled, pointing to Ranma, who simply covered her face in her hands and shook her head. "He'd hang all over those bimbos!" Akane thought, her temper running hot as she thought of all the times Ranma was with Shampoo and Ukyo, and those times she caught him with Kodachi...

The sound of Chiyeko's slap echoed through the room. "I can take a lot of abuse, and people can insult me. Fine. But you won't insult my mother!" she said, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm challenging you, Akane. You'll eat those words about my mother!"

Akane moved her mouth several times with no response, her anger checked after that slap. She knew she had gone too far. "Fine. I'll fight you in the dojo. Atasuke, you officiate." She walked out of the room towards the dojo, followed closely by her nephew and a few seconds later by an outraged Chiyeko.

Ranma shook her head and stared into her tea. "I can't believe this crap," she mumbled, then got up to watch the fight.

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In the dojo Chiyeko faced Akane, as Atasuke knelt down by the side. Ranma and Kasumi joined him a few seconds later. The two combatants faced each other and bowed curtly.

Akane had always been more of a power fighter centered on the ground, and she had not changed over the years in this regard. On the other hand, years of sparring with Ukyo and Ryoga and teaching her nephew had raised her skills well above what they had been. She fell back into a defensive stance, assuming that the pissed off teenager would attack at once.

She was disappointed in this. Chiyeko had learned patience from Ranma, control from Ranma. She would let her opponent commit to an attack first if at all possible. So she mastered her anger and waited, apparently unready, until Akane gave up waiting her out and kicked lightly at her.

The kick was just to gauge the speed of Ranma's heir, just testing her, and Chiyeko flowed easily around it just as Ranma had so many years before. She then increased her speed a little more, and lashed out with a quick punch. Chiyeko dodged it nimbly, her head leaving an afterimage as she dropped to the ground and swept her leg at Akane's calf.

Akane stepped over the blow, changing her stance. She would have to go all out on the girl, but she had her speed pegged, and while she was faster, she wasn't faster enough to win, Akane thought. So she flared out her ki and attacked.

Chiyeko started to sweat. She couldn't just dodge around the blows any more, and had to deflect and block a few. Still, she wasn't getting hit. The problem was that Akane barely seemed to register her counterblows and shrugged off attack after attack. If this continued Akane would slowly wear down her stamina until she could no longer dodge, and then those blows would smash her. She realized she was going to have to actually dig into the bag of tricks she had been taught on the road. With those, she felt confident in her ability to win, and with confidence... "Mouko Takabisha!" she yelled, suddenly thrusting her hands out and shooting Akane point blank with the ki-blast.

The breath was blasted out of Akane as the ki blast exploded on her gut, and she was thrown back for a second. Chiyeko grinned and leapt in, a solid kick landed before she grabbed her opponent and threw her into the wall.

"A ki-blast!" Atasuke said, surprised. No one had ever shown him a ki blast except Ryoga, an old friend of his aunt's. And Ryoga trained every day with giant sumo pigs, and his aunt said that Ryoga had always been far better than she was.

Akane got up and wiped her face. She then looked at her hand and the bloodstain on it. This girl had just raised the stakes. She lunged forward at high speed, using her ki to increase her speed. She wouldn't be able to outlast Chiyeko like this, but if Ranma had taught the girl special techniques like that she wouldn't be able to outlast her anyways. Her chances now lay upon her keeping Chiyeko too busy defending to let off any of her special attacks.

Chiyeko dodged Akane's ferocious attacks as best she could, and blocked the others, but her arms and legs were starting to hurt. Akane was as strong as a gorilla, an enraged gorilla now, and even after all the training she had gone through, she wasn't tough enough to just shrug off the blows. Finally she trapped one of Akane's arms and used her free hand to strike at pressure points along it. Akane took the opportunity to unload a full force kick into her ribs, but as she rolled to her feet she figure she came out the better of the two now that Akane's arm was disabled. She gasped for breath and dodged again as Akane came and attacked immediately, not giving her time to think or use any of the weird techniques she had learned on the road. Akane and Chiyeko traded blows, both unable to completely defend themselves anymore, when Akane made her mistake.

Akane widened her stance just as the girl ducked to balance against a sweep when Chiyeko rolled forward, between her legs, and her foot blurred out with unnatural speed as she bounced back up. Each strike was precisely aimed, and Akane dropped to the hard wooden floor unmoving. "I win," Chiyeko said simply, looking emotionlessly at Akane. She wiped her hands and went over to Kasumi. "Kasumi-san," she said, bowing, "May I use your bath?" Kasumi nodded as Chiyeko left the dojo.

"She is very skilled," Kasumi said as she got up to check on Akane, who was out cold.

"I didn't train her in the art for nothin', you know," Ranma said. "Someday she might even be as good as me."

Atasuke nodded mutely. "Am I going to be sparring with her?" he asked nervously.

"Yepm you'd better believe it, kid," Ranma said, slapping him on the back roughly, "and if you ever hurt her..." Ranma glared at him, her own battle aura glowing bright blue, "You'll be sparring with me."

Atasuke wisely decided to skip peeping on Chiyeko as he had previously planned to do and went to his room.

"He's a nice kid," Ranma said to Kasumi. She clammed up until she was certain Atasuke was out of earshot "Once you wake her up, tell Akane I want to speak with you 'n Akane about my curse and Chiyeko and stuff."

"She doesn't know?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ranma shook her head. "I'll explain tonight. For now, I gotta take a bath and talk to the kid."

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"Aw, hell, that's gonna bruise," Chiyeko grumbled, poking at her arm. "And this one too." She never really understood how her mother seemed to wear her injuries like a badge of pride. She traced along her arm, where an old thin scar marred her flesh. "And my teachers wondered why I wore bracers and a headband all the time in Nekomi," she murmured. She stoppe and looked up when Ranma entered the bath.

"Hey shorty," Ranma said as she sank down in the bath. "Ahh, that feels so good. I really shouldn't have turned Kasumi down the first time." She scooped down with a hand towel and folded up the hot, waterlogged towel on her forehead as she relaxed in the steaming water. "Whatcha thinking about?" Ranma asked, knowing that her daughter had at least one or two burning questions.

Chiyeko fidgeted. She really didn't want to bring it up, because it was a subject that always seemed to bring pain to her mother. But her argument with Akane made it something she couldn't restrain herself from. "I never asked you about it before, but-"

"You want to know about your father," Ranma said tonelessly.

Chiyeko stared at the water, unwilling to say anything. She peeked up at her mother, trying to catch a glimpse of her emotions at the moment. Strangely, her mother was smirking.

"That would be my fault, I guess," Ranma said. "I probably should have told you about your father a long time ago. He's a real man among men, I'll tell you that." Ranma started giggling. That disturbed Chiyeko. She'd never heard her mother giggle before, and now she was acting like a schoolgirl in an anime.

"What's so funny?" Chiyeko said, irritated.

"Nothing," Ranma said, her face going flat. She took the towel off her head. "Don't worry about your father. He's OK, you just can't meet him yet."

"I'd like to meet him someday," Chiyeko said, smiling.

"You will," Ranma said. "I promise it." She smiled.

"So everything Akane said about him having strung along four women was a lie? I don't like to think of my father as some kinda pervert, you know."

Ranma scratched the back of her head. "Now that I think of it, he did have a bunch of women after him at the time, didn't he? The girls were chasing him, though, not the other way around." She scooted over to her daughter, glanced at the door, and leaned over. "I'll tell you a secret. Akane was one of them." Then Ranma laughed a little.

Chiyeko started laughing along with her. "So it's sour grapes?"

"Exactly," Ranma said. "Now c'mon, Kasumi's probably finished cooking dinner." She jumped out of the furo and got dressed in a hurry.

"That's my mom," Chiyeko said, following. "Always thinking with her stomach."

The dinner was indeed good, and Kasumi was just as good a cook as Ranma had told her. She had excused herself and gone up to the guest room for an early night's sleep, but in reality she had an ulterior motive. She wanted to spy on Ranma and the other adults. they all knew her father, and maybe she'd learn a little more about him.

For her part Ranma was feeling exhausted. Not physically; physically exhausting Ranma took a lot more than merely travelling. Even running all day carrying a boulder couldn't wear down her reserves. But returning back to Nerima had worn her emotionally. There was a lot of unfinished business here, and that realization hit her like a thunderbolt. Two of those unfinished pieces of business were right across the table from her. "Where is Tofu, anyways?" Ranma asked, deciding to start things off safe.

"He's currently at a conference in Yokohama," Kasumi answered. "He should be back late tomorrow."

"Oh," Ranma said. "so-"

"Your daughter doesn't know the truth?" Akane asked, irritated. She had been bruised in the fight as badly as Chiyeko had, and was far more annoyed by it, given that she had trained longer than the girl had even been alive. To her it was like the first time the Saotomes had come to town all over again. The first time she had been beaten easily by someone her own age, and now barely beaten by someone a generation younger, but both times it was like a negation of years of hard work. "Why did you lie to her?"

Chiyeko's ears perked up, and she crept down the stairwell some to listen better.

Ranma looked down at her after-dinner tea, sighing. "It's not really anything I can tell her about without looking crazy, thanks to those damn Amazons."

"And just whose fault is that, you pervert?" Akane said angrily. Chiyeko nearly blew a fuse at that, but barely kept it down. The last thing she needed to do was get angry; her mother could easily detect someone by their aura alone. Only the training she had gotten in the forbidden art of Umisenken was keeping her hidden as it was.

"Don't call me a pervert, you idiot. There's no way you can possibly blame their crap on me!" Ranma said, slamming the half-empty cup on the table.

"Akane, Ranma, please calm down," Kasumi said gently, putting a hand on her sister and giving Ranma her most peaceful smile. "Akane, blaming Ranma for what the Amazons did isn't fair. And Ranma, I really feel you should tell your daughter about the curse."

"Curse?" Chiyeko said. "First I've heard about it."

Ranma shifted. "I will before I leave." She growled audibly. "Those damn Amazons..." She then stood up. "Listen, it's been a stressful day for all of us. Why don't we all get a little extra sleep and talk about it tomorrow, when the kids are at school?"

"That sounds reasonable enough. Could you escort Akane to the train station?" Kasumi asked.

"I don't need Ranma to follow me to the train station," Akane snapped. "I'm the master of the Tendo school of Anything-Goes, not some helpless-" She choked off the rest of her response. "I'll go by myself."

"Suit yourself," Ranma said. Scrambling back up the stairs, Chiyeko silently gave thanks that Ranma had left the door open after seeing her to bed, and slid into her futon seconds before Ranma came into the room. She pretended to be asleep while Ranma walked in the room and heavily crashed onto her futon. "Sleep tight, Kid," her mother mumbled as she fell asleep.

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: Finally, a real fic from me. It's been quite some time, but I've returned to writing, albeit at a slightly slower pace than at my peak. On the other hand, I do write more steadily... though I seem to revise things and not be happy with them more, too.

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	2. Chapter 2

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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The next morning, the silence of a Nerima morning - a silence that had been the norm for years - was shattered by the distinctive and destructive sounds of a Saotome family early morning sparring session.

"If my daughter only had half the dedication I had to the Art!" Ranma screamed, using Chiyeko's body as a springboard to remain aloft, and sending the blond girl into the koi pond at high speed. "But no! She doesn't take it seriously at all!"

"You obsessive bitch! Die!" Chiyeko said, firing double Mouko Takabishas upwards at her mother, who deflected them with her own. Leaping up, she exchanged blows with the older, taller woman at a lightning pace.

From the sidelines, Atasuke Ono looked on with wide eyes. "Pinch me, mother, I'm still sleeping," he said to his mother, looking at the two from the covered porch.

"I remember when Ranma and Genma fought in the morning. It seems that some things never change," Kasumi said to her son. "Now go and get changed. Your aunt will be by soon for your morning sparring session, and you won't want to keep her late."

"Sure thing Mom!" Atasuke said, running back up to his room for a change of clothes... and his video camera. He wasn't willing to risk physically peeping on his fiancee, but where there was a perverted will, there was a wily way. Or so the ancient master of Anything Goes had told the young Ono, before his untimely demise.

Atasuke clapped his hands absently, in memory of the honored dead.

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"Hey Akane!" Ranma said cheerfully, dragging the mostly insensate Chiyeko along the ground with one arm and waving to her ex-fiancé with the other. "Ready to beat up your heir today?"

Akane laughed and shook her head. "Not quite that badly; I like my students to be able to walk to school under their own power after training." She looked at the young Saotome girl. "I don't remember the old panda going this hard on you," she said.

Ranma snorted dismissively. "The old panda never had Chinese Amazons after his ass, as well as some of the other psychos. Besides, Chiyeko has some fairly strong rivals of her own, and she doesn't push herself to beat them the way I did." Ranma shrugged, as if to say she found that completely incomprehensible. "So I push her instead. She'll be up an' about before breakfast, though, she got that from me along with the raw talent."

Akane shook her head at Ranma's egotism and shouted for her own student. "Atasuke! Get your butt out here so I can kick it!"

Atasuke quickly came running out of the house, to snap to attention in front of his sensei. "Yes sensei!" he shouted enthusiastically.

"Aren't you full of energy this morning," Akane noted wryly. Usually the boy seemed to have taken more after his aunt Nabiki in the mornings, very slow to awaken. Well, he had probably been startled by the Saotomes' sparring session slash deathmatch happening first thing in the morning, she figured. Then Akane realized she was woolgathering and pointed to the dojo. "Unlike our guests, we'll be sparring where we're supposed to, like civilized people. So get moving!"

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Just like Ranma said, Chiyeko was perfectly fine and showing no signs of having been clobbered by one of the best martial artists in the world less than a half hour ago when she sat down at the table, Akane noted. She also noticed that neither Ranma nor Chiyeko were stealing food the way Ranma and her father had, so many years before. In fact, though their arms were blurring over the plates, they didn't seem to be making the sort of headway on their food she had expected them to. Then she realized why: each of them was using the Parley De Fois Gras to simultaneously force-feed the other one, and defend against attempted force-feeding.

Chiyeko was visibly angry at Ranma, though, just the way Ranma had always been pissed at Genma so many years ago. "Stop trying to feed me, mom! I'll get fat!" she snapped angrily.

"You need to eat before you starve yourself to death!" Ranma yelled back. She then slipped back into the sort of overdramatic pseudo-despair that her father had used: "Oh, that my own flesh and blood would become an anorexic. The shame!"

"I AM NOT ANOREXIC!" Chiyeko said, lashing out and capturing Ranma's chopsticks with her own. "Heh!" she said, "Now what are you gonna do, obaba?"

Ranma answered by stealing Atasuke's chopsticks with her free hand and slipping Chiyeko a quarter of her plate before the younger girl could react.

'Chiyeko isn't always hungry the way Ranma and his father were, but Ranma's found another way to motivate her,' Akane realized. Her speed training was also a lot more than Ranma had gotten out of his own food battles, too, because Genma was more interested in eating than teaching.

It wasn't long before Ranma finished harassing Chiyeko and pronounced herself satisfied that her daughter wouldn't "starve herself" and finished off her own plate in blazing speed.

"At least I'm not a pig like you..." Chiyeko grumbled.

"Whatever," Ranma said. She pulled out a bag of school supplies and tossed them to her daughter. "You'll need these for when you go to school."

"You enrolled me in school here?" Chiyeko said, rifling through the bag. "Hey! There's no uniform!"

Ranma waved her hand artlessly. "They won't care, seeing as you're my daughter and all and I never wore a uniform to Furinkan. I just want to make sure you don't grow up ignorant."

"Well, sending me to the school you graduated from doesn't seem like a winning strategy!" Chiyeko growled. "Besides, I want a uniform. Last time-"

"-you wore a headband and bracers with your uniform, which sort of defeats the purpose of wearing one," Ranma said reasonably. "I don't see what the problem is of just going in your normal clothes."

There was a ringing slap, and Chiyeko removed her hand from Ranma's face. "Maybe I don't want to be a weirdo like you were!" she yelled, running out the door.

"Jeez," Ranma said, rubbing her cheek. "If it's really that big a deal, I'll buy you the stupid uniform," she said, not really caring that Chiyeko had run off to cry alone.

Kasumi and Akane stared at her for a while. "Ranma," Kasumi said slowly, "I know you didn't mind your life on the road with your father. Much. But perhaps you should give Chiyeko the chance to be a normal girl for a little while?"

Ranma shook her head. "No kid of mine will ever have a chance to be a normal girl for a while." She held up her hand to forestall the argument she was about to get. "Last time I settled down in one area for any length of time, Chiyeko got in a fight with some girl in class who kept calling her a demon and attacking her, and she'd be ambushed every so often by a robot. I just don't think it's in the cards for her."

Akane looked at Ranma quizzically. "Are you sure your family doesn't have some sort of weird hereditary curse? Maybe it's a good thing that our engagement went out the window after all."

Atasuke looked in surprise and confusion between the two women. Akane and Ranma... together? All sorts of hentai images came to mind at that. Very interesting ones.... which if Ranma or his aunt realized, they'd probably kill him for. "Excuse me, Mother, Aunt Akane, Ranma-san," he said, standing up unsteadily, "but I think that maybe I should talk to Chiyeko and try to calm her down." Sounded good. He ran away from the table and possible death as fast as he could.

The adults watched the heir to the Tendo school take off. "Seems like a nice enough kid," Ranma said. "Ahh! Reminds me of myself at that age."

"Why thank you, Ranma," Kasumi said, knowing what Ranma had really meant, underneath the ego.

Akane snorted. "You were never that polite, Ranma."

Ranma stuck out her tongue at her former fiancee.

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"Damn she's fast," Atasuke said, running down the street. He had seen her off in the distance as he exited the gates of the Tendo house, and run after her as fast as he could. He had been pushed hard to follow her, given the fact that the girl ignored little things like houses and walls, jumping over them instead of running around them like a normal person would. At least it made her easier to catch up to.

Finally, she stopped at the canal. Atasuke was relieved that she'd finally decided to stop running; any further and he'd have collapsed. Even as it was he had dipped into his reserves and was breathing hard. He got the feeling that Chiyeko hadn't even really been trying, though. "Hey there," Atasuke said, puffing.

Chiyeko shot him a sour glance. "Leave me alone." She sat down on the edge of the concrete wall lining the canal and starting crumbling off bits of the concrete like it was styrofoam, and throwing the chunks in the water.

Atasuke sat down next to her. "Listen, Furinkan's a weird place, Chiyeko-chan," he said, trying to use the sort of cheerfully calm voice his mother always used. "Plenty of students don't wear uniforms there. It's no big deal."

Chiyeko threw another chunk of concrete in the water with a splash. "Great. The weirdo goes to a school full of weirdos,"she mumbled.

Atasuke stirred uncomfortably. He'd have defended the honor of his school, except that Furinkan really was a school full of weirdos. He needed to distract her. "So," he said, going with the first thing that popped in his head, "what's with the headband you're always wearing?"

Chiyeko growled and turned away from him. "It's none of your business, that's what it is."

"Ok, ok, I was just curious," Atasuke said, holding his hands out placatingly. He made a mental note not to bring that up with Chiyeko again. Instead, he got up. "C'mon, we've got to get going to school, anyways. Don't want to be late on your first day."

"I guess," Chiyeko said, hopping up. "Lead the way."

Atasuke walked slightly ahead of her, giving the brooding blonde her own space to stew in. He was sort of familiar with women acting like that, thanks to his sometimes temperamental aunt. Once after getting clobbered by a moody Akane, the master had once told him, 'The stormiest women wear the grayest lingerie.'"

He had meditated on the wisdom of Happousai many times, and still the sayings of the master remained enigmatically wise.

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After being introduced to the principal, who Chiyeko thought looked a little too young to be even a teacher, never mind a principal, the younger Saotome was walked to her homeroom by Atasuke Tendo. "My apologies, Saotome-chan," Atasuke said smoothly. "I'd have liked to have been in the same classes as you, but you are a year ahead of me." He hadn't known that until Chiyeko was told to go to a second-year homeroom, actually.

She shrugged. "It's OK, we have the same lunch period." She waved to Atasuke as he left. Smiling, she turned into the classroom, her earlier anger at her mother completely gone. "Hi!" she said, waving to the classroom.

The teacher nodded his head in her direction. "Class, I'd like you to meet our newest member of the class. She's recently been on a training trip to learn the martial arts, and has just returned from Thailand. So let's give her a big hello!" The class cheered, although the girls shot her a few dirty looks and the boys let loose with a few whistles.

Chiyeko ignored them and wrote her name on the board. "My name is Saotome Chiyeko-"

"Whoa! Saotome!" a few people said excitedly.

She frowned. That was never a good reaction, thanks to her idiot grandfather. "-and heir to the Saotome school of Anything-Goes martial arts."

A hand shot up. "Can you shoot ki blasts from your hands?" one boy asked.

"Er, yes..." Chiyeko said. That wasn't usually something people asked her.

"What's with the kamikaze headband?" a girl asked.

"What?" Chiyeko said, turning. "It's a gift from my aunt-"

"What are your measurements?"

"Yeah!" another boy chimed in.

"None of your business!" Chiyeko yelled.

"What ab-"

"SILENCE!" the teacher roared. "Honda, Sato, Yoshimoro, in the hall, now," he said, pointing. He paced up in front of the class. "What's gotten into you?"

"She's a Saotome!" someone said.

"So?" he asked. "I won't tolerate these sorts of outbursts in my classroom. Saotome, please sit down."

Chiyeko quickly grabbed an empty desk and sat in it.

"Now, please turn to page 43 in your textbooks..." the teacher droned, turning his back on the class. No sooner than he had done that than a snow flurry of notes had landed on Chiyeko's desk. The angry blond fried them with a showy display of ki, which quickly cowed the other students into leaving her alone.

"Great," she grumbled to herself. "I want to be a normal girl, and I end up being the most normal one in the class."

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At lunch, Atasuke watched a very wet and very irate Chiyeko walking towards her. He took a look at the bruised and bandaged group of second-year girls in the lunchroom and rumors of some sort of locker room brawl and quickly reached the correct conclusion. "You had some sort of fight?" he asked.

Chiyeko looked around before grabbing Atasuke and jumping onto the roof of the athletic equipment shed. "Listen, I hate to say this, but the other girls here are crazy! They attacked me in the locker room and one of them tried to boil me alive with a kettle! What the hell is going on? Are they all on drugs?"

Atasuke shrugged. "There's some rumor going around that you're a guy or something..." He gulped and backed up as a powerful, unusually heavy chi field jumped up around Chiyeko.

"WHAT!" she yelled.

"I find it hard to believe anyone could mistake you for a guy," Atasuke said soothingly, his survival instincts kicking in full force in the face of the angry girl.

Then she cooled down. "Well, at least that'll die down soon." She flexed her arm. "I've taught them a lesson. Besides, they saw me change." Her stomach rumbled suddenly. "Aw man, I forgot my bento," she complained.

Seeing an opportunity to curry favor with the girl, Atasuke quickly pulled out his own. "You can have some of mine." Given the whole breakfast scene with Ranma, she'd turn him down politely because she was trying to watch her figure, so he'd come out ahead without really giving anything up.

"Nah, I gotta watch what I eat," Chiyeko said. Atasuke smiled, knowing he had pegged that one, and opened the bento to eat. Then Chiyeko's stomach rumbled again. "On second thought, maybe I could use a bite to eat," she said, wavering. Atasuke handed her the bento. She handed it back after two seconds and got up. "Thanks for the food, Atasuke-kun," she said before jumping back down.

"Think nothing of it," he said, before looking at his bento. "My lunch!" he yelled. Only a few grains of rice were left. "She... ate... all... my mother's meal!"

He looked to the heavens. "NOOOOOO!"

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"Sounds like Atasuke got scammed out of his lunch by a girl again," one of the male students said, shaking his head.

"For a few minutes alone with the new girl? Man, I'd say that was worth it!" another one added.

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DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: There, complete!

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	3. Chapter 3

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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It was a much more irritated and rumpled Chiyeko who returned back to the old Tendo home with Atasuke Ono that night. "That school is insane. What sort of school has a chi vampire as a principal? Yeesh," she complained. "My last school wasn't nearly so bad. I only had to deal with the psycho teaching shop as some sort of community service."

"Hinako-san's really not that bad. I've never seen her get sick after draining someone before, though." Something she just said penetrated Atasuke's brain. "You took shop class?" he asked, confused. It matched neither the martial arts obsession or the girl's desperate wish to act like a normal girl once in a while.

She shrugged. "The school was a feeder to some technical college. Shop was required. I just wish I didn't have Mr. Sparkplugs himself teaching it. Kami-sama, that was pointless. He kept going on and on about how fuel cells were an affront to all that was good and holy." She threw open the gates of the Tendo home, letting the huge gates crash into the wall with a loud bang. "Obaba! You get your butt out here right now so we can get my uniform!" she yelled.

"My," a thin middle aged man said, walking through the gates. "You're about as polite to Ranma as," he paused, "she was to Genma." He smiled. "You must be Chiyeko. I'm Tofu Ono."

Chiyeko slowly reddened. "I'm, I'm very sorry, Ono-san, I wasn't expecting to meet you here. My mother usually practices all day outside, I was just-"

Tofu waved her to a stop. "It's not necessary. I know what you were thinking." He adjusted his glasses. "Ranma said she wanted to meet some old friends of hers. She'll probably be back tonight."

Nodding to both his father and Chiyeko, Atasuke took the opportunity to run into the bathroom.

"Aw, man, she just wants to weasel out of shopping for 'girly clothes' for me," Chiyeko complained. "I swear she'd have been happier with a boy! No! She'd have been happier if SHE was a boy! Obaba no baka!" With that, Chiyeko stomped off to her room.

Tofu smiled privately. That was probably correct. "She'll probably go shopping with you tomorrow." After Kasumi and I tell her how much you want her to, he amended. The one thing you could count on about Ranma was that the redhead had always loved her daughter. If the Amazons hadn't locked Ranma's curse... but they had, and now a lot of demons were involved in Ranma's relationship with both her daughter and her daughter's mother. There was the curse, and the quiet little private war between the Amazons and the Anything-Goes school that had been going on afterwards.

At least with Happousai and Cologne both dead, it wasn't nearly as dangerous as it had been that first exciting year, he reflected. He still remembered the screaming Ranma coming through his door, blood pouring from her destroyed left eye...

Tofu shuddered. "Kasumi, do you sometimes get the feeling that things should have gone better than they did?" he asked his wife as he reentered the house.

She nodded. "Should have, yes, but they didn't." She stopped cutting vegetables and looked pointedly at the guest room. "Sometimes I think that Ranma exists simply to destroy everything she touches."

"Her pride always got her in trouble," Tofu agreed. He pulled an apple out of the fridge and washed it off. "Then again, the Amazons's pride probably caused even more problems. The two of them seem pretty cursed by the gods on account of it," Tofu said, taking a bite.

"You really shouldn't be eating that, so close to dinner," Kasumi admonished him.

"Well, if I didn't eat something, I'd be in here, too hungry to think and getting in your way." He winked. "Didn't you know an apple a day keeps the doctor away?"

Kasumi groaned. "That was horrible, dear."

Tofu chuckled and tossed the half-eaten apple in the trash.

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Atasuke Ono had retrieved his tape from the furo from where he had stashed it, and was carefully setting up the tiny camcorder to play back on the TV on his desk. The door was locked and the blinds down - always a sensible precaution when you were living with a bunch of powerful martial artist women. His small flatscreen - so crisp! so detailed! - blinked on, and he muted the sound.

He saw Ranma get in the tub first. While he appreciated the fiery beauty of Ranma, who looked younger than her age and showed absolutely no signs of having had children, she was a little old for his tastes. Instead, he fast forwarded to the part that he was interested in.

He saw Chiyeko's exotically tanned body come in, apparently yelling at Ranma, who simply dismissively waved at her and continued to soak in the furo. Chiyeko then scrubbed off, still facing away from the camera. "Turn around, damn you," Atasuke whispered in irritation. He wanted a front view of his fiancé!

Maddeningly, as if she knew there was a camera, Chiyeko refused to cooperate. The few times she turned around a bit while scrubbing down, suds covered anything interesting. Then, when she stood up and got in the furo, her towel was strategically positioned the whole time! And to top it all off, she was mad enough at Ranma that she sat in the corner with her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them. "No!" he yelled. "All that work for NOTHING!"

"Atasuke?" his mother's voice drifted up from below. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine mom!" he yelled back, sweating. Then he turned back to the screen.

Chiyeko had leaned her head back, letting her blond locks spill backwards. "That's what I want," Atasuke said , clapping his hands. Then he noticed her forehead. "What's with that weird marking?" he asked. It was dead center of a pale strip running around Chiyeko's head. Her headband, he realized. She must never take the thing off. He considered this.

"She has small red dots by her eyes. I thought it was some sort of weird martial arts tattoo, but..." He frowned. "She hides the one on her forehead. Maybe they would tell her to cover it up at school... but then she wouldn't wear that headband so much it leaves a tan line." He shrugged, not understanding it. "I'll just ask her about it," he said, smiling. He pushed his glasses further up on his nose, unconsciously matching his father's gesture.

Then he realized something. "Damn it! How would I know about it?"

That didn't deter him, however. Atasuke Ono would get to the bottom of this... especially as it would mean sneaking more pictures of Chiyeko in the tub.

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Chiyeko was busy changing in her room at that moment. Her long kung-fu tunics, while bright, silky, and pleasing to the eye on her, were completely unsuitable for the sort of sneaking around she felt like doing right now. She unwrapped the red headband she had been wearing and exchanged it for a black one, and dressed herself in a dark, drab-looking flat black gi. She smiled. For spying on her mother and her friends, this would be ideal. Now, if she could get Kasumi to tell her where they were...

She skipped down the stairs, nearly knocking over Atasuke doing so as the boy came out of his room. "Sorry, Chiyeko-chan," he said politely, bowing slightly. "I should have watched where I was going." He smiled at her.

"No problem," she said, shrugging. She looked in the kitchen, found Kasumi. "Hey Auntie Kasumi!" she said energetically.

"Oh, hi Chiyeko," Kasumi said, turning slightly to look at the blonde martial artist. "Planning on training?"

"Yeah," Chiyeko said, nodding. It wasn't even a lie - everything was training, especially if Ranma was your teacher. She opened the fridge and pulled out a diet soda. "Say, where is my mother right now?" she asked casually as she opened the can.

"Oh, Ranma's out visiting some old friends of... hers," Kasumi said, nearly blowing Ranma's secret again.

"Oh, really?" Chiyeko said, glad that the can was partially hiding her face and even more glad that Kasumi was paying far more attention to her soup. She had definitely inherited her mother's lack of a poker face. "The obaba has friends here?"

"Oh yes, Ukyo and Ryoga," Kasumi said. "They're old friends of Ranma's from long ago."

"I bet they're martial artists," Chiyeko said, attempting to draw more information out of Kasumi while looking casual. If they were teaching at any dojos, she could probably look them up in the phone book.

Kasumi nodded. "Ukyo practices - or practiced - a school of martial arts centered on cooking Okonomiyaki," she said.

Chiyeko rolled her eyes. This Ukyo sounded like a crazy martial artist, too. Just the sort of person she'd have figured her mother to have as a friend.

"-and Ryoga teaches kempo outside of town at his wife's farm," Kasumi continued.

Chiyeko tossed the can of soda in the trash as she finished it. "Kempo, huh? Well, I better get to the park or I'll never hear the end of it when mom comes back," she said hurriedly as she left the room.

"She's up to something," Kasumi said thoughtfully as she continued to stir her soup. She smiled brightly. "Well, she can't find Ranma. She doesn't even know her way around Nerima, anyways."

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"Atasuke-kun!" Chiyeko said, grabbing the boy by the arm as he was practicing. "Just the boy I want to see! Can I have a favor?"

Atasuke smiled at her. "Well," he said, scratching the back of his head and giving a disarming smile, "what kind of favor is it?"

Chiyeko looked away and feigned nervousness. "Well, it's like this... I want to go somewhere, but, you know, I don't know my way around town, so..." She turned around slightly and smiled shyly.

Atasuke Ono laughed. "Sure, I can show you around. Where do you want to go?"

Chiyeko smirked. Putty in her hands! "Well, I was wondering if you knew any good okonomiyaki places?"

"Hmm," he said, thinking. Atasuke took his glasses off and wiped them. "Well," he said after considering the question, "I don't really like okonomiyaki. The only place I can think of is Ucchan's, and that's only because my aunt's friends with the owner." He had visited the place once or twice; apparently the guy owning it was a friend of Akane's and so was the weird ninja waitress who worked there.

"Perfect!" If the owner was friends with Akane, then odds were this 'Ukyo' person was the owner. The name just confirmed that. "We'll go there!"

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When she arrived at the restaurant, she pulled Atasuke into a nearby alleyway. "What?" he asked, curious.

"My mother is in that restaurant," Chiyeko said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I actually just wanted to spy on her."

"Fine with me," Atasuke said. He thought of something. "We can't just sneak in and pretend to be another happy couple - the restaurant is too small, and even so, I think your mother's a bit more observant than that, and Ukyo has a ninja working as a waitress."

"A ninja waitress?" Chiyeko said, baffled. "Weird." She looked around the corner for second. "I've got it!" Chiyeko said.

"You do?" her companion replied. "What are you planning?"

"It's really small, right? Just a countertop inside the doorway, basically, and the door's open, right?"

"It is," he confirmed.

"I'll just sit outside the door then. We can listen from there, and sneak off when my mother finishes talking. There's another alley just beyond the restaurant - we can hide in there when she leaves."

Atasuke seemed dubious about it. "That seems kinda..." Stupid, he thought, but was too tactful to say. "...simple," he finished lamely.

"Whatever," she said. She pulled him out of the alley and casually strolled past the restaurant, with the more normal-looking Atasuke between her and the restaurant, then snuck back under the window and crouched down by the door. Sure enough, her loud, rude mother was keeping the volume of the conversation to the point where she could eavesdrop from the doorway. She snuck a look at this Ukyo guy, to see what kind of friends her mother had.

"Hmm," she said. She really couldn't judge a guy's looks in his thirties, but this Ukyo guy kept his body in decent shape. A little effeminate and bishonen, but she had gathered a long time ago that the 'manly man' type didn't interest her mother at all. The few times she had attempted to arrange a date... the results were not pretty.

She shivered, remembering that horrible, endless lecture that had followed that and the bad mood her mother was in for a week after that incident. It was almost as bad as the time she took a kitten she found to camp.

"Mom seems to like him," Chiyeko whispered to Atasuke.

"Aunt Akane mentioned Ukyo and your mom had once been an item," Atasuke said. Actually, Akane hadn't actually said that, but it had been strongly implied.

"Hmm," Chiyeko said, thoughtfully. If her mother liked this guy, he'd never know it - she was far too unfeminine. On the other hand, if she were to help the two along...

She smiled mischievously. "I think I've got a project," she said, laughing softly. Completely forgetting her original intention to eavesdrop, she pulled Atasuke along as she snuck away from the restaurant, planning to spring a surprise on her mother.

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Ranma and Ukyo, both blissfully unaware of the thought processes of a certain platinum-haired girl, were discussing deep weighty matters inside the Ucchan's.

"Ranma, you really need to get over this fixation with the Amazons. It's been, what, 17 years? Find some other way to break the lock. Leave it alone," Ukyo urged.

Ranma shook her head. "I can't, Ucchan. They took my manhood, my eye, they robbed my daughter of a father - it's about more than just my curse, you know." She pointed to the patch over her eye. "It's about more than this, too. Those barbarian bitches have taken seventeen years of my LIFE away!" Ranma angrily swatted a bottle of soy sauce away, sending it rolling down the countertop until Konatsu caught it.

Ukyo stared hard at her. "So let me get this straight, you're going to go kill a bunch of Amazons? That really worked for you last time, didn't it?" Ranma glared hard at her with her good eye. "Killing them does no good; they'll never give you a cure. All you're going to do is put your daughter at risk."

"Just killing them wasn't my plan," Ranma said, looking down at her uneaten okonomiyaki. "I tried that last time and all it did was get Happousai killed and my eye torn out. Even if Cologne died and a few other elders, it didn't accomplish anything beyond that." She looked up, seriousness written all over her face. "No, I've got in mind something else."

"Just what do you have in mind?" Ukyo said, laughing. "They won't budge for anything."

Ranma remained silent and continued to stare at the cold food in front of her.

"C'mon Ranma, speak up. Or at least eat and don't let my cooking go to waste."

She sighed. "Fine then. I was planning on offering a tournament. Myself and a few friends against the Amazons. If I win, a cure. If not...."

Ukyo looked at her. "If not, what?"

Ranma sighed. "Then I don't kill them. They have plenty of enemies. Me, you, Konatsu, Ryoga, Akane, Chiyeko... we're all good martial artists. Chiyeko's better than I was at that age," Ranma said, "and certain neighbors of the Amazons bear them ill will."

"Ranma, the Amazons have to be alive to tell you how to cure your problem," Ukyo said, slitting her eyes at Ranma.

"So screw the Amazons. I'm betting Herb or Saffron can cure what they did to me," Ranma huffed.

"Why didn't you ask them, then?" Ukyo asked casually.

"Because this is about more than the curse, Ukyo. It's about their damn laws destroying my life. They'll face up to that, or I'll crush them," Ranma said, reaching over and pulling out an egg from behind the counter, "like this!" The smashed egg splattered on the cooking grill, where it quickly burned up. The chef scraped it off with a small spatula.

"OK, Ranma, that's nice to know," she said. "Come back when you've got something in mind a little less bloodthirsty." She leaned back against the wall, watching Ranma, who ate her cold okonomiyaki quickly.

Ranma sighed. "Ukyo, if you don't want to go to war with the Amazons, fine. But can I at least have your help in the tournament?"

"Sure thing, sugar," Ukyo said, earning a jealous flinch from Konatsu. "Friends have to help friends, right?"

"Right," Ranma said, smiling. Privately, she had figured on this. Ryoga would be one of the few people she could count on all the way. Between him, Chiyeko, and herself, that's all the edge the Musk or Phoenix tribe would need in a war anyways. "How about you, Konatsu?"

"Of course I'm in, Ranma," he said. "How can I protect Ukyo otherwise?" the effeminate ninja answered.

"Great," Ranma said, smiling. "I'll tell you more after I talk to Ryoga." With that, Ranma put down her yen on the counter and left.

It wasn't until she was safely out of earshot that she let herself grumble. "Ukyo, you of all people should understand my need to regain my masculinity," she groused, then shook her head. Then again, Ukyo probably thought that she was going overboard about the Amazons or something. "She doesn't have any kids, though. She doesn't know how hurt I am every time Chiyeko smiles at me and says 'Okaasan'." Something struck her then. "Oh crap! Chiyeko! Kasumi made me promise to take her shopping for a uniform tonight!"

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Ranma returned to the ancestral Tendo home for dinner to find a glaring Chiyeko and bemused Kasumi and Tofu. "Where's Atasuke?" she said, noticing that the boy was missing.

"He's over at a friend's," Kasumi said. "We left your dinner in the refrigerator, by the way." Looking at her seriously, she continued: "Don't you have something to say to your daughter?"

"Yes, I do." Ranma steeled herself, then used a technique she had only used once before- "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Chiyeko recoiled in discomfort from seeing her mother groveling at her feet. "Knock it off, mom! That's embarrassing!" She looked around and saw that Tofu and Kasumi were laughing.

"Ah, your father's old 'Crouch of the Wild Tiger'," Tofu said, laughing. "I haven't seen that in years."

"You mean something that lame is considered a technique?" Chiyeko said, unimpressed. "Mom, I'm losing my respect for me."

"What respect?" Ranma said dryly. Chiyeko giggled. "We'll get your uniform tomorrow after school."

"So, how did your meeting with Ukyo go?" Tofu asked.

"Oh, pretty good,"Ranma said. "We caught up on old times, talked about my plans..."

Chiyeko nodded. Very interesting. Have to figure out a way to get the two together. Maybe if her mom got laid she'd be less of a... nevermind. She didn't want to think of her mother doing THAT.

"Oh! Chiyeko, does the food not taste right?" Kasumi asked, noticing the greenish tinge the girl had taken on for a second.

"Oh, nothing of the sort," Chiyeko said, laughing nervously. "Nothing at all!"

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The next morning Ranma found herself outside of Tokyo, looking the biggest pig she had ever seen in the face. "You must be one of Akari's sumo pigs," Ranma said conversationally. "I think I knew your granddaddy Katshuniki. Say, can you go get Ryoga for me?"

The large pig - quite used to the way that Ryoga tended to get lost - grunted affirmatively and ran off, leaving Ranma to sit on top of the fence and wait. She looked over the farm. It hadn't changed much since the last time she visited. Ryoga's kids were both far younger than Chiyeko; they were both loveable scamps who loved "Auntie" Ranma and their "big sister" Chiyeko.

Soon enough, the pig was leading an older, wiser, and somewhat grayer Ryoga to her. Apparently the Hibikis started going gray early, Ranma noticed. Normally, she'd be more than happy to start harassing her old friend and rival, but right now she had bigger fish to fry. "Hey Ryoga! How's it going?"

"Well enough," Ryoga said, flexing his muscles. "Keeping in shape, getting better every year. I haven't had the opportunity to go wandering all over the world like some people I know, but I haven't been sitting on my ass watching the grass grow the past two years, either."

"I'll say," Ranma said, casting a critical eye over Ryoga's aura. Definitely stronger and more centered than before. "How are the kids?"

"Oh, they're doing just fine in school," Ryoga said. "Hideo and Hikaru are in second grade now. They walk to school with one of the neighbor's children - don't want them getting lost and wandering off the way I did." He sighed. "At least they seem to have moved out of their 'P-chan' phase."

Ranma laughed. "I remember that. Last time I came, I don't think you stayed human for more than two minutes at a time.'

Ryoga nodded. "Yeah. How's Chiyeko?"

"She's better than I was at that age," Ranma said proudly. "More skilled, a lot more ki. She's got funny ki, very heavy, but she's got lots of it." Ranma paused. "We're staying with Kasumi for the moment."

Deciding that Ryoga hadn't taken offense that she hadn't asked to stay at the Hibiki house, Ranma continued. "Anyways, I needed to ask if I could have your help with a certain problem of mine?"

He nodded. "Let me guess. You're going after the Amazons again."

"Yeah," Ranma said. "If you don't want to help because of your sons... I'll understand."

"No," Ryoga said, shaking his head. "I'm in. I know how much it would mean for you to be able to be a man again. I've seen how you flinch every time Chiyeko calls you mother... say, how is Chiyeko's mother doing?"

"Busy," Ranma said, waving her hand. "She's always away. Poor Chiyeko; she thinks her real mother is her aunt." Ranma sighed. "I told Hild I wanted to marry her once this is all over - I told didn't want her to live in sin." Ranma frowned. "She laughed at me."

Ryoga growled. "She what?"

"She said not to worry, she just thought it was funny the way I phrased it," Ranma said. "I don't see what's so funny about it myself."

Ryoga shrugged. "She was always weird." Privately, Ryoga had always thought that she was dangerous, and Hild was about the last sort of person he saw Ranma getting together with. Trying to talk Ranma out of marrying her was impossible, though. The guy was just too honorable for his own good. "Come to think of it, you never did explain the whole story behind how you met her."

Ranma sweated. "It's pretty stupid and dumb."

"I've got some sake in the house," Ryoga said, jerking a thumb towards the door. "You can get drunk and forget you told me."

"Won't take much, either," Ranma said, laughing. "With a threat like that, how can I refuse?"

"Just tell me the Genma version if you want - leaving out all the important details," Ryoga said, taking a seat on the fence.

"Eh, I guess," Ranma said. "It was in China, I kept turning into a girl, and I had this sexy chick hitting on me." Ranma shrugged. "If it weren't for the curse-"

"-you would have turned her down," Ryoga said, sighing. "Yeah, I know that feeling exactly."

"You should," Ranma opined, "seeing as that's how you got your crush on Akane, P-chan."

"You could stop bringing up that little indiscretion, Ranma," Ryoga said coldly.

"But it's so fun to tease you about it!" Ranma said, giggling. Then she caught herself. "Sorry, sorry..."

"It wouldn't be right if I didn't feel like beating the crap out of you," Ryoga said, shaking his head. "Come to think of that, let's see how much you've improved."

"Is that a challenge, P-chan?" Ranma said, jumping off the fence.

"Yeah, so bring it on, Patch!" Ryoga said, getting off as well.

It was not until much later that a bruised and somewhat tired Ranma staggered home and collapsed in the Tendo home. "Mom!" Chiyeko said, coming home and throwing her books on Ranma's chest.

"Oof!" Ranma said, as Chiyeko upended the couch.

"Get off your butt!" Chiyeko said cheerfully. "You need to bring me to the ma-all!"

"I'm going, I'm going," Ranma said, getting up and dusting yourself off. "I didn't forget."

"Sure fooled me," Chiyeko sniffed, as she pulled her mother out the door.

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Meanwhile, far from Tokyo...

Another young girl, coincidentally the same age as Chiyeko, was finishing her inspection of her bike before putting on her helmet. "Silly Welsper," she said, picking the old cat off her seat. "I can't bring you along. Stay with Mom!" She put her bags in the sidecar and went back inside.

"Mom! Dad! I'm leaving now!"

Belldandy and Keiichi Morisato quickly came to the door and hugged their daughter goodbye. "Don't forget to call in whenever possible, Sifu," Belldandy said. "And don't forget to tell your aunts Skuld and Urd where you'll be staying."

"I won't," Sifu Morisato said.

"Good luck, squirt," Keiichi said, mussing up his daughter's hair.

"Daa-ad!" she cried, embarrassed. "I'm seventeen! You can stop calling me 'squirt' now."

"Ok," Keiichi said. "Just be careful. Demons are dangerous."

"Father wouldn't have given her an assignment like this if it weren't something she could handle, even as a Surface Trainee," Belldandy said. "I'm sure Sifu will be fine."

"Yeah, Dad, that girl will never know what hit her," Sifu said. "I'll put an end to whatever trouble she's causing on Midgard!" With that, she got on the bike and fired up the engine. Giving them both a big thumbs up, she roared off down the road.

Keiichi shivered and looked at Belldandy. "Are you sure she'll be all right?"

Belldandy nodded. "I'm certain of it. Besides, Skuld will be watching her, and the demonness she's following is the same age as Sifu. She'll be fine."

Keiichi nodded and walked back to his garage slowly. Still, it took every effort not to get on his own bike and follow her, just to make sure.

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: I extol the wonders of carrots produced under the communist system...


	4. Chapter 4

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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Akane Tendo had been a very deep sleeper in her younger years. So, for that matter, was Nabiki Tendo. Only Kasumi, the oldest, had slept lightly and with difficulty. It was a trait her son had inherited.

Atasuke Ono was awake in his bed at midnight. Chiyeko had gone with Ranma to the mall, and returned after apparently spending several hours doing nothing but buying clothes. The look on Ranma's face when she returned with her daughter made Atasuke congratulate himself on his decision to make a tactical retreat to his friend's house. Still, he'd have liked to know what she got. "A uniform, of course," he murmured to himself in the dark room. "But certainly not just a uniform," he continued. "Perhaps she bought... panties?" He smiled.

If she bought some new underwear, surely she wouldn't notice if a few of the older ones vanished! He could probably poach a few from Ranma as well. He hadn't been able to practice the techniques for absorbing female ki that were described in Happousai's scrolls, but he felt that it was a result of the women in question having too little ki for someone of his admittedly low abilities in ki manipulation to work with. His two houseguests, however, were more than strong enough, he judged.

"They would understand, after all," he told himself. "It's for training! The advancement of the art!" Then he slumped. "Who am I kidding... I'd just better not get caught."

Silently rising from his bed and tying a bandanna around his head in the ancient and hallowed outfit of the panty thief, Atasuke Ono slipped out the door into the waiting hall towards the guest room.

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You would think that someone chased by crazed Chinese martial artists, as Ranma supposedly was, would sleep a little more lightly, Atasuke supposed. The woman hiding under the blankets on her futon, though, with only her red pigtail sticking out from between the blanket and her head under her pillow, hadn't moved a muscle since he entered the room. Chiyeko, on the other hand, was sprawled out across her futon and had kicked off the covers, and was snoring in a very unfeminine fashion. Atasuke silently crept over and smiled as he looked at the sleeping girl for a few minutes, then remembered what he was there to do and slipped over to the dressers. Best not to press his luck, after all.

He opened up the dresser and found Ranma's things first. At least that was what he supposed; while Chiyeko had some very large... talent, her mother was even more developed. Also, all the bras were as plain as could be, if they weren't simply sports bras. That fit more with the warriorlike Ranma than Chiyeko, anyways. Even with his limited ki abilities, he could feel the power off of them. He smiled. Finally, he'd manage to learn another great technique of Anything-Goes! Giddily, he selected one of the plain bras before picking through the panties.

"What the- men's boxers?" he said quietly aloud. Nervously, he looked around and saw that neither of the two seemed to have awakened at the noise, so he went back to inspecting it. The boxers seem to be brand new and never worn. He shrugged. Weird. Putting them back, he took one of the panties as well, and then searched for Chiyeko's underwear.

Chiyeko definitely had better taste in underwear by Atasuke' standards. Rifling through the selection of dainties, he swiped a few that he figured wouldn't be missed, along with a red lacy one that would definitely be missed but he couldn't have possibly not stolen. Stuffing his ill gotten gains in his gi, he snuck back towards the door before suddenly having a slight attack of conscience and slipping back towards Chiyeko.

Kneeling lightly next to the sleeping girl, he clapped his hands silently. "Forgive me, Chiyeko," he whispered. then turned towards the door and silently stepped back into the hall and crept towards the dojo.

He never noticed the shadow that emerged from the closet and followed him there.

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Ranma grumbled to herself. It was bad enough having her sleep interrupted by someone sneaking into her room, but having it be a freaking panty thief was something she thought had died along with Happousai. The fact that the thief was Kasumi's son boggled the mind, but he had rifled through their underwear, so panty theft was clearly exactly what he planned.

She considered exactly what she should do. Her first instinct had been to slip out of Umisenken and poke him in the shoulder, and have a father-daughter 'beat the pervert' bonding session. But his ki flows had been very interesting, and she decided then to watch what he did. Her second thought was to tell Kasumi what her son was up to late at night. However, she had a suspicion that was confirmed when she saw him sneak into the dojo that simple teenage hormones weren't all that was leading him to steal Ranma and her daughter's underwear. There was something familiar about the patterns of ki around him while he was handling the underwear.

Something distinctly Happousai-like.

She realized what had happened, and what she'd need to do.

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Atasuke Ono was deep in meditation. Specifically, he was concentrating on Chiyeko and the feelings she aroused in him as he held the booty from his panty raid. According to the master, the female ki in the undergarments should strengthen and compliment the lust ki he felt, and would strengthen him. In the case of Happousai, Atasuke had learned, this sort of ki priming had become necessary to stave off his incredible age.

As far as he could tell, Chiyeko's ki was very heavy and more powerful than he had expected, dark, rich, and syrupy. "This could be more difficult than I thought," he mumbled, trying to pull the decidedly odd ki from the silky bra he was holding. Finally giving up, he opened his eyes and stared at the bra.

Suddenly, his face became one with the floor.

"Nah, that one doesn't suit you at all," Ranma said from her perch on top of Atasuke's head. "Now, would you mind explaining what you're doing with my underwear? And Chiyeko's, as well?" She hopped off his head and crouched down nearby.

Atasuke looked at the one-eyed woman with terror, sweat pouring down his face. "It's not what it looks like! It's part of my training!"

Ranma grabbed him by the front of his gi, and with a single bound, slammed him into the dojo wall. "I know it's part of your 'training'! Now why on earth are you trying to learn Happousai's techniques? And you'd better have a damn good reason or I knock you into next week - and then I tell your mother what you've been doing!"

Slumping over, his feet dangling off the ground as Ranma held him up against the wall, he found himself unable to look her in the eye. "It's my art," Atasuke said, ashamed. "Akane taught me Anything Goes, and I've learned a lot from her-"

"But you wanted to learn the advanced forms of the Art," Ranma finished the thought. The whole Battle Dogi debacle had demonstrated the limits Akane would one day hit in her development. If Kasumi's son had run up against them..."Atasuke, Atasuke... this really wasn't the way to do that. Happousai was a monster." Ranma dropped him on the floor.

"Your father wouldn't teach me," Atasuke grumbled.

"Figures," Ranma said, laughing. "The old panda really likes his peace and quiet."

"Yeah," Atasuke said. Then, hesitantly, "Er - if you don't mind my asking - why does he turn into a panda?"

"I'll answer that, if you tell me just where and how you learned Happousai's style." Atasuke grunted and pulled several scrolls out of his gi. Ranma nodded and opened them up. The scrolls were every bit as incomprehensible as she remembered. "Kami-sama. Happousai's handwriting is as bad as I remember. How on earth did you read these things?"

"My father is a doctor," Atasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh," Ranma said, then took the scrolls and incinerated them with a single, violent burst of ki.

"WHAT!" Atasuke said, jumping to his feet. "You just destroyed decades of priceless insight into the art!"

Ranma shook her head. "Trust me. The world is a far better place without the terrible perversions Happousai created." She patted Atasuke on the head. "Now, if you want to learn the advanced forms of Anything-Goes, I'll be more than willing to teach you, seeing as I'm the current Grandmaster and all. I'm sure Chiyeko will be more than happy to help-" Ranma paused and pulled out Chiyeko's bra, "Especially after I tell her about your little adventure in her underwear drawer." She then put it back in her shirt, concealing it with the same hidden weapons she was using to hold the other underwear after stealing it back.

Atasuke blanched as Ranma walked from the dojo, whistling cheerfully.

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It was after a particularly violent and now three-way morning sparring battle that Chiyeko felt confident of starting her plan. "So," Chiyeko said, adjusting the unconscious pervert currently draped over her shoulder. That revelation was dampening her appeal for her current plan, but for her mother's happiness, she was willing to give him a second chance. "Well, mother, despite the whole panty-raid thing, I'm kinda willing to give this engagement thing a try. But, I kinda feel like..." Chiyeko took the opportunity to feign nervousness and twiddle her fingers while she thought of how to put it. "I feel like I should know him better. We should go on a date - his treat, of course, after what he did last night..." She trailed off, thinking.

"The guys normally pay anyways, silly girl," Ranma said, whacking her daughter in the back of the head with her free hand good-naturedly. Ranma smiled; Chiyeko was kind and forgiving.

Chiyeko looked at her mother with a worried expression. "I don't trust him now, though. What if he did something perverted?" Chiyeko said, now ready to spring her master plan. She turned away to smile evilly, her pale blue eyes going steel hard for a second.

"Just beat the crap out of him," Ranma said as she sat down at the table. Tofu, for his part, hid behind a newspaper and ostentatiously ignored the conversation in front of him.

To think, that his son had been attempting to go down the same path as the late, unlamented Happousai!

"Pftt, Obaba," Chiyeko said irritably. "I don't want him to even try anything perverted," she said, dumping Atasuke in his usual spot before sitting down. "I figured we should make it a double date - you and Ukyo can come along with us. With two adults as chaperones, he won't try anything!"

"Well..." Ranma said. It would sort of defeat the purpose of dating to get to know him better with Chiyeko's mother hanging over him like the sword of Damocles.

"Please, mother?" Chiyeko said, applying puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, fine," Ranma said, her resolve crumbled.

Chiyeko simply nodded and accepted the bowl of bland, tasteless miso soup (which she hated) with a cheerful, happy smile. Inside, however, she was secretly exulting, and plotting on how to give her mother the best of all possible dates.

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It was after school, and Chiyeko needed to get her accomplices to help her. The first was close at hand.

"Argh!" Atasuke said, as Chiyeko jumped out of a top floor window to land directly in front of him as he was leaving the school. There were still bruises from this morning's sparring session evident on his face He glanced around. "Haven't you put me through enough? I told you I'm sorry!".

"No," Chiyeko said curtly, then dragged him away from the other students by his arm. Once she had achieved relative privacy, she pinned him against the wall and smirked. "You're going to take me on a date. Your treat," Chiyeko said, in a tone that invited no disagreement.

Atasuke smiled. That wasn't too bad. "Ok, I suppose I owe you that."

"You're also going to treat my mother and her date."

"What?"

"You owe her, too," Chiyeko said, then released him from the armbar she had him in.

Atasuke scratched his head. "Well, I guess..."

"No 'I guess'. You're lucky Ranma didn't beat you up herself. My mother's a hell of a lot better than I am at doing that," Chiyeko said, before turning away. "Make arrangements for us to go to dinner and a movie. Nice restaurant, and pick a movie my mother would enjoy. Tell me where we're going when I get home," she said as she walked off.

"Damn," Atasuke said, realizing that his wallet was going to take a serious hit. He frowned. "A movie her mother would like on a date? She'd know better than I would."

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Chiyeko looked up at the sign in front of her. Sure enough, she had found the Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. Inwardly she felt relieved. While she was no Hibiki, she wasn't sure she'd be able to find the place after only having visited it once before. She pushed aside the curtain in the entranceway and looked around inside.

The Ucchan's was an older restaurant, she decided, in a retro-nineties kind of way. Then she realized that the inside wasn't retro kitsch. It was still decorated the way it was since it was opened, save for repairs and such. "Hey there!" the owner yelled out, noticing that she had entered the store.

Quickly Chiyeko sat down on one of the barstools. "Hey there yourself," she answered, looking over the menu on the wall. "I'll have a beef okonomiyaki, extra spicy," she ordered.

"Sure thing, honey," Ukyo said, cooking okonomiyaki with a skill and ease that bespoke years and years of practice.

"Wow, you're good," Chiyeko said, not needing to pretend to be impressed. "I can see why some people think you cook the best okonomiyaki in Japan."

Ukyo smirked as she flipped over the cooking food. "Well, Ranma-honey's always liked my cooking," she said, still smirking. "That's been true since we were kids."

"You knew my mother?" Chiyeko said, pretending to be surprised.

Uyko momentarily froze up for a second at the word 'mother', but recovered admirably. Quickly applying a last bit of sauce, in the shape of a smiley face, she slid the cooked food over to Chiyeko. "A Ranchan special," Ukyo explained. "I've known your, er, mother since she was six." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the ninja cleaning one of the small booths along the side of the restaurant. "Konatsu's known your mother for years, too. And I've known you for years, too, believe it or not, even though you were just a shy little kid who kept hiding behind Ranma last time you were here."

Chiyeko thought back, but couldn't remember this place. "Wow," she said, chuckling sheepishly. "I wish I could remember that."

Ukyo smirked again knowingly. "Bad memories run in your family."

"Anyways," Chiyeko said, after finishing off her food, "I wanted to know if you'd go out on a date with my mother." In the corner, Konatsu froze. "It's a double date," Chiyeko said quickly. "You two will be around as chaperones for Atasuke and I."

Ukyo smiled, her eyes flickering quickly towards the back of the store. "Sure thing," she said happily.

"Great!" Chiyeko said, standing up. "Give me your telephone number. I'll call you with the details. Oh," she added, "you don't have to pay. My boyfriend will take care of that."

"why, Isn't that nice of him," Ukyo said.

"Yes, he's very nice, isn't he?" Chiyeko said, her expression unreadable. Then she left the store with a final wave.

"What a weird girl," Ukyou said. "I can't believe Ranma hasn't told her about her real mother yet, can you, Konatsu?"

"No," the transvestite ninja said, having sat down at the bar as soon as the young Saotome left. "Ranma should tell her about Hild and the curse, Lady Ukyo."

Ukyo's eyes narrowed as she looked at Konatsu. Ranma was lost to her, that was true, but in the intervening years she'd developed a love almost as deep for Konatsu. The only problem had been his intense subservient nature. He hadn't made a move in years, and even her incredible patience was wearing thin.

Maybe her dating Ranma would awaken some sort of jealousy within Konatsu. It was worth a shot, at any rate. Even if it didn't, she wouldn't mind spending time with her best friend. "She doesn't realize I'm a girl," Ukyo said, laughing as the realization hit her. She looked down at her androgynous outfit and shook her head bemusedly.

"Can I have a few hours off?" Konatsu asked unexpectedly.

"Sure thing, sugar," Ukyo said, eyeing the ninja as he bowed to her, apologized profusely for leaving her alone, and left. So, it seemed there was a spark of jealousy to kindle in the crossdresser ninja after all. "Heh, this will be great. Just like old times," she said, reminiscing. "Now I know how Nabiki felt."

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Chiyeko returned to the house to find Atasuke sitting outside the gates. "I booked reservations for four at Vittorio's," he explained. "I don't know if Ranma or Ukyo like Italian food or not, but it's my favorite restaurant."

"That's OK, I guess," Chiyeko said. She'd never eaten Italian style cuisine before, and didn't know if her mother had, either. She probably had, she decided. Her mother ate like a pig. She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I also got four tickets for the romance movie 'Bridges over Dancing Wolves'," Atasuke continued, pulling out four tickets.

"A romantic movie?" Chiyeko said, her heart jumping. "My mother hates those!" she exclaimed. Atasuke looked crestfallen. "Well, it's too late to exchange them," Chiyeko said. Privately, she didn't mind. She liked romance movies, even if her mother hated them. It was a sacrifice the obaba would just have to make for her daughter.

"Everything's ready," Atasuke said, having counted up his money and coming to the conclusion that he'd be broke for the next week. "You should tell your mother."

"Of course," Chiyeko said, then clapped Atasuke on the shoulder. "This is great! I forgive you, even if you are a panty-stealing pervert!"

"Gee, thanks," Atasuke said.

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At the very moment that Chiyeko and Atasuke entered the old Tendo home, Konatsu shook hands with Ryoga outside the Hibiki farm. "So, we are agreed?" Konatsu said, giving the bigger man a steely look.

"Of course," Ryoga said, smiling back. Actually, he didn't really care about who Ranma dated anymore, but it just wouldn't be right if Ranma had a date and he didn't mess it up. "I'll be sure to help."

"Thank you, Hibiki-san," Konatsu said politely. "You are an excellent friend."

"Just lead the way, and remember that you need to lead me back home as well. It's my turn to read the twins their bedtime stories," Ryoga said, hefting his umbrella again. For a moment he wished for his pack.

Konatsu nodded. "I will do that, Hibiki-san," Konatsu replied as he started walking back towards Tokyo.

"And call me Ryoga, will you?" Ryoga said, as he followed Konatsu. "Hey, isn't this the road to Kokura?"

"No," Konatsu replied. "By the way, we need to make one more stop before we catch up to Ranma..."

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DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: I extol the wonders of carrots produced under the communist system...


	5. Chapter 5

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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Sifu Morisato drove through the streets of her new assignment with increasing confusion. Never before had she seen such a collection of weirdness and obviously bug-created bizzarities. People were screaming and running around waving signs that said 'repent', there were people putting up 'for sale' signs on every home and lot in the district, and a surprising number of people were reading the newspaper and crying. She recognized the person they were crying about instantly, as well. That red-haired woman was the putative mother of her target, the young demoness Chiyeko.

She pulled back in front of the apartment building she was going to be staying at for the next year - or possibly more - and pulled her helmet off with a sigh, before getting off her bike. Her stuff was already in the apartment and she had already talked to the landlord, and her boxes of clothes and supplies weren't going to unpack themselves.

Sifu slid open the door to her room, peeled off her leather jacket, and collapsed on the futon. She sighed and looked at her oily fingers. Sometimes she felt like.. she couldn't describe it, really. Not really a goddess. Just another human, like her father and her friends, and she never escaped the nagging feeling that she didn't quite live up to her mother's expectations. The worst thing was, she knew she wasn't right, that Belldandy loved her just the way she was without reservation, and that sometimes drove her nuts. "I'm like Auntie Urd that way," she said, smiling. Her half-goddess aunt had once made the same comment to her before. "Speaking of my aunts..."

Sifu picked up the phone in her apartment and dialled heaven collect. There was a brief pause, and then she heard her aunt's voice: "Goddess Relief Office, Skuld speaking, how can I help you?"

Sifu giggled. "It's your favorite niece, Auntie Skuld," she said.

Skuld laughed. "I heard you got your Earth Trainee License."

"Sure thing. I've been meaning to tell you and Urd, but I got an assignment straight off."

That got Skuld's interest. "An assignment? Right off the bat?"

"Sure," Sifu answered. "There's this demoness Kami-sama wanted me to watch in Nerima."

"Why does Father want you to watch a demoness? You're a Class 3 goddess right now?" Skuld asked uneasily. Sifu could hear her drumming her fingers on her desktop nervously.

"This demoness is as young as I am," she said as an explanation. "Still, Kami-sama wants an older goddess to keep an eye on me."

Skuld sighed. "And you didn't want your mother looking over your shoulder the whole time." Right. Sifu was at the age whee she wanted to be independent, and Belldandy could be smothering sometimes.

Actually, Sifu thought, the one I wanted to ask was Urd, but I thought my mother would be dropping by every ten minutes if I did that. "Exactly. Mother doesn't always give me my space."

"Right," Skuld said. "Well, I've got some more work to do, but I'll tell Kami-sama that you want me to help you out. You should tell Belldandy, too."

"Mom already knows," Sifu said. "I've just got to call Aunt Urd up."

"OK, I'll probably drop by tomorrow. Just don't tangle with that demoness before then."

Sifu laughed. "Don't worry, Auntie, I'm not even going to go outside except to eat. G'bye."

"Bye," Skuld said, and hung up. Sifu put down the phone and started flipping through the phone book.

Due to the sort of cosmic coincidence that has haunted Ranma's entire life, her eyes lighted on an ad for an Italian restaurant called Vittorio's, and she made up her mind at once.

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Meanwhile, Konatsu and Ryoga had picked up the third member of their team on their way through town. Although he hadn't been able to reach her on the phone, he had left a message on Akane's answering machine. Sure enough, Ranma's ex-fiancee was in the perfect mood to teach Ranma a lesson. "I can't believe he's doing this," Akane fumed. "If I knew Hild's number, I'd give her a call and let her fix his wagon!"

"You don't know Hild's number?" Konatsu said idly, squirreling that factoid away. He hadn't been able to locate it himself, but he would have figured Akane knew it.

"No, she drops off the face of the earth or something when she's not with Ranma and Chiyeko," Akane said, shrugging. "I guess she values her privacy."

"Whatever," Ryoga said irritably. "We need to make this quick. I want to return home in time to put my kids to sleep."

Konatsu quickly produced three movie tickets. "These are for the movie that Ranma will be watching with his date."

His co-conspirators looked at the two tickets. "'Bridges over Dancing Wolves'? Sounds boring as hell!" Ryoga said with a grunt of disapproval.

Akane snickered. "Ranma will just love this. Are we sure we can't just skip the movie and mess up their dinner? Ranma will probably kneel down and thank us if we rescue him from this."

"Yeah," Ryoga opined. "Besides, I bring my kids to this theater sometimes... it's nicer than the one in Kokura. I don't want to be thrown out of it."

"Kokura?" Konatsu said, confused.

"Yeah, just north of Tokyo, in the suburbs," Ryoga said. "They have a great childrens' rate." Ryoga pulled out a map of Hungary and indicated exactly where he thought the movie theatre in question was in his private world.

Konatsu stared at Ryoga blankly for a few seconds. He nodded slowly. "That's right. I forgot-"

"Eh? Forgot what?" Ryoga said, looking up.

"Nothing, nothing!" Konatsu said, waving his hands. "Let's just go to the movies."

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"The movies!" Chiyeko said, her smile threatening to overshine the bright glow of the theatre's signs. She turned to Ranma. "Yet another thing I didn't get to do while you dragged me all over half the world, obaba!"

Ranma rolled her eye. "Yes, and sitting in the dark while loud noises and bright lights are distracting your attention is the perfect thing to do when you have a bunch of obsessed Chinese assassins after you. Besides," Ranma said, "when I was your age, I didn't go to the movies much, either, and I never complained."

Ukyo nodded. "I remember that. Ranma-honey here spent too much time fighting half the town to go to the movies. So did I, as a matter of fact."

"Just because you were deprived of a normal childhood is no reason to deprive me of one!" Chiyeko said.

Ranma stopped and glared at her, unmindful of the small crowd watching their mild disagreement. "You make a few sacrifices, being a martial artist," she said, pointing to the patch over her eye. "Not going to the movies whenever you want is one of them!"

Chiyeko turned away from Ranma. "I'm not having this argument," she said, waving her hands. "Come on, Atasuke, let's get some popcorn."

"Fine with me," Atasuke said. He walked along placidly, pulling out the money for the popcorn and soda.

Ranma poked him in the arm. "I want two large popcorns, a large soda, and a bag of Raisinets." Atasuke gulped, not quite expecting to be buying that much stuff.

"Buy some popcorn for me, too," Ukyo said, "I don't want this walking stomach to eat it all. Oh, and a soda. And popcorn okonomiyaki if they have it."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Not everyone is as crazy about Okonomiyaki as you are, Ucchan." Chiyeko's hopes soared. Pet nicknames! Perhaps there was hope here for her mother.

"They should be!" Ukyo said, and as they started arguing over the merits of okonomiyaki in movie theaters, and Chiyeko and Atasuke waited in line for food, they all missed three people enter the theater.

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Akane looked over at them briefly, repressing the urge both to point them out and to shoot them with a powerful ki-blast. "There they are, one group setting a perverted example for another group." Privately, she had suspicions that Atasuke needed no examples in perversion, although she had never been able to prove it. But having two girls dating right in front of him couldn't possibly help. And Ranma had no business corrupting her own daughter with this... hentainess!

"Where?" Ryoga said excitedly, as if looking for a rock star. He then noticed Ranma. "Yep, there he is. Be fun to kick his ass again. 'Ranma prepare to die' hasn't been said in far too long."

Konatsu looked at them both and sighed. "Let's wait over here and pretend to look at the movie posters. We can slip into the theater right behind them. We're unlikely to be seen that way."

"Good call," Akane said, and turned to the posters. She couldn't resist taking the occasional glance at Ranma and Ukyo, though. Ranma's acceptance of this date was at least comprehensible to her, he had always been a pervert, and doubly so after the curse was locked. Why Ukyo was going along with this when she had someone normal like - she glanced at Konatsu and amended that - someone comparatively normal - someone male like Konatsu was disturbing.

Maybe Ukyo was a pervert like Ranma? "No wonder they're best friends," she muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Konatsu said, his sharp ears catching what Akane said.

"Er, nevermind," Akane said, looking on Konatsu with faintly pitying eyes. That explained it all. Ukyo had never fallen in love with Konatsu because Ukyo was only attracted to other girls.

Looking suspiciously at Akane for a second, Konatsu then glanced towards their collective target and noticed the distinctive red hair moving towards the theater doors. "They're moving. Let's go."

----------------------------------------

There are boring movies, and then there are truly mind-numbing movies. Ranma certainly decided that this dumb flick was in the second category. It made no sense whatsoever and was full of sappy scenes that were driving her nuts. The only excitement she'd had the whole movie was when she noticed Atasuke, who was in the row in front of them with Chiyeko, had surrepetitiously and apparently unconsciously prepared to sneak a quick grope of her daughter, at which point Ranma 'accidentally' kicked his seat in the rear hard enough to loosen the bolts attaching it to the floor.

Ever since that moment of brief drama, Ranma had been stunned into a stupor by the glacial pace of the plot, lack of action, and extreme sappiness. Of course, Ukyo was tearing up and kept reaching for her hand, but Ranma had ceased to notice that after the first half-hour. There was little that Ranma knew of that could save her from the hour and a half of hell she had remaining. The only upside was that Atasuke was in the exact same hell.

Chiyeko on the other hand was having a wonderful time. Atasuke was being nice, and apart from that suspicious bone-rattling kick her mother obviously gave him, hadn't attempted any misbehavior. Ukyo and Ranma were even holding hands... although her mother, depressingly, was demonstrating her utter lack of femininity by being completely unmoved by the movie. Strangely, Ukyo seemed to really be into it, which confused her to no end. The last kind of guy she could see her mom with was the annoying weepy sensitive kind.

She sipped at her diet coke and watched the screen wide-eyed as the cast burst into a sudden musical number.

----------------------------------------

Several rows back, Akane and Konatsu were both enjoying the film, while Ryoga was glowing a sickly green and privately lamenting the fact that, for once, he could not just get up and get lost. Well, technically, he could, but then he'd lose track of Ranma and not get the chance to relive old times again. How many times did Ranma go on dates nowadays? Not nearly enough for Ryoa to have any hope of accidentally crashing one. He glared at his two partners in crime. They felt no urgency in disrupting this part of Ranma's date. They were enjoying themselves, while he and Ranma were tormented by the sheer banal fruitiness of this incredibly boring film.

Ryoga stewed in resentment for about three more minutes before an usher built up the courage to poke the muscular glowing guy in the back row's shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, but is there a problem?" The other ushers were shaking, ready to bolt for the door at the first moment, but doing their best to pretend to be ready to back him up.

Ryoga turned slowly to face the bravest usher, as Akane and Konatsu finally took notice of the sickly green glow around Ryoga. Actually, Ryoga was now the center of attention of a quarter of the theatre now. "Yes. There is a problem," he mumbled, staring at the ground.

"And what would that problem be?" the usher said, as one of his compatriots quietly slipped back to go warn management.

Ryoga slowly looked up with crazy eyes. "The problem is... I CAN'T TAKE THIS STUPID MOVIE ANYMORE!" With a loud primaeval scream, Ryoga tore the seat he had been sitting on out of the concrete it was bolted to, hurled it violently through the screen, and followed that with a mighty Shishi Hokodan that blew a hole the size of a semi in the wall. The hole neatly coincided with the hero's head, as he sang love songs to the love interest.

Of course, you don't blow up the screen in a theatre without some reaction from the crowd. They immediately started running around in a blind panic and screaming at the top of their lungs. "Terrorists!" some people screamed. "Worse, martial artists!" someone else yelled in the throng of people beating a retreat to the door.

"We have to get out of here," Konatsu yelled to Akane over the noise. "Before the ushers get management!"

"We should follow Ranma! Look! She's getting away!" Akane yelled, pointing. Sure enough, Ranma had grabbed Chiyeko and Uyko under her arms and bounded through the large hole in the wall created by Ryoga's outburst. Growling, Akane grabbed Ryoga's arm and hauled him along, pushing her way through the crowd.

They emerged to find that Ranma and Ukyo had lost them. "Damn!" Akane yelled, punching the wall and putting a small crater into it. "Ranma must have jumped up on the rooftops while we were inside."

"No," Konatsu said. "Ukyo can't roofhop - she doesn't stay in practice the way we do."

"But Chiyeko and Atasuke can - Ranma could carry Ukyo and let them tag along. We'll have to run over to the restaurant and cut them off."

"Right," Konatsu said determinedly. Then, remembering, he grabbed Ryoga, who was glancing back at the movie theater nervously. "Don't gawk, you've blown places up more thoroughly than that before!"

"I just don't want to have to explain this to my family if we've been banned from the theater..." Ryoga mumbled, as he joined them in the rooftop race.

----------------------------------------

Sifu Morisato, blissfully unaware of the damage done to a certain theater, the dinner plans of her nemesis, and the unlikelihood of the quiet, refined dinner she wanted, motored towards Vittorio's, completely missing the martial artists leaping from roof to roof in front of her.

----------------------------------------

Vittorio's was large, decorative, and owned by a real Italian fencer who had moved to Japan to study the sword arts there. In other words, its owner was the typical sort of person who moved to Nerima, and like many of the restaurants owned by martial artists in the area, a good portion of the help had more than a passing familiarity with the fighting arts themselves. The maitre'd of the restaurant was one such, as his arms, clearly visible as he had torn the arms off his tuxedo and the dress shirt beneath, showed. "'Fraid not. Can't let you in," he said coolly.

"Why's that?" Akane demanded angrily.

"You might cause a disturbance," he said, unfazed.

"What makes you think that?" Akane yelled back, a slight bluish haze forming around her.

The maitre'd raise one eyebrow at this display. "Not bad," he said admiringly. "Some of our previous customers gave a description of you and said you'd cause a ruckus." He ran his eyes over the trio. "You seem to be proving them right. Perhaps you would like to dine at a later time, after the other party leaves? I'll offer you a discount," he said agreeably.

Realizing that they'd be proving Ranma and company right if they refused this offer, they stomped outside in annoyance, rudely brushing past the girl entering the place. Said girl huffed in annoyance at the rude people before walking up to the front desk.

"How's the wait?" Sifu asked, looking around. The restaurant didn't seem to be full, although the goon in the ripped tuxedo might have something to do with it. She then caught sight of her unfavorite person and started momentarily.

"No wait, you can take a seat immediately," the goon replied. He looked briefly at the odd tattoos on her face but dismissed them, a lot of people looked weird in this town. He then motioned for one of the waitresses to take care of her.

Sifu pointed to a table relatively near her opponent. "Could I have that table?" she asked politely.

The waitress shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she said, leading Sifu over and putting a menu down in front of her. "Will anyone else be joining you?" she asked.

"No, just me," Sifu answered with a smile. She sat down and immediately began drilling holes in the back of the blonde demoness with her eyes. Said demoness was currently yukking it up with her mother and two poor mortals who didn't have a clue what they were dealing with.

----------------------------------------

Outside the restaurant, in an alley cloaked in shadows, three highly irritated martial artists were plotting. "So much for 'just like old times'. Back then we would have simply knocked him aside and started the fight right then."

Konatsu sighed. "You're right. I don't know what got into me there, Ryoga." He looked at Ryoga with a sneer. "Perhaps it was just a bit of maturity."

"Quiet, you two," Akane growled. "Let's just try to sneak in through the back."

"Fine," Konatsu said. "Follow me."

Surprisingly, the trio managed to slip without much trouble into the back, primarily due to Konatsu's ability at picking locks. The crossdressing ninja pointed out a booth in the back for Akane and Ryoga to wait in, then slipped back into the work area and clandestinely snuck looks at the various orders until he figured out which ones were the dishes Ranma's party had ordered. Quickly, he produced a small vial from his pocket and put a single drop in every plate except the pizza, which he was reasonably sure was Ukyo's.

Konatsu slipped back into the dining area just before Ranma's waitress returned to fetch their dinners.

----------------------------------------

Sifu had ordered her dinner and was currently in the process of keeping an eye on her target while drawing a simple program on the tablecloth in front of her. While nowhere near as complex as the divine programs her mother or aunts used, it was as complex as the novice goddess could manage without total concentration. The barely-visible lines, whorls, and letters of mana ran across a good quarter of the table before she finished. They pulsed briefly and then disappeared

Her little spell was designed to detect signs of tampering or magic, and sure enough, the table up ahead fairly glowed to her eyes. The food was spiked, that redhead Ranma practically looked like she was on fire, and Chiyeko herself was fairly aglow as well. The boy the demoness had been talking to was glowing lightly as well; in fact, the only thing on the table not displaying signs of magic or other tampering was the older woman across from Ranma. Sifu had no idea what was going on, and she knew she had told Skuld she wasn't going to confront the demoness so soon, but whatever was in that food, she wouldn't let it affect innocent mortals.

Sifu got up from her table and walked directly towards the other table.

----------------------------------------

"Who is that girl?" Konatsu said, pointing to Sifu.

"I don't recognize her," Akane said. "Must be some new problem in Ranma's life."

"She looks more Chiyeko's age, actually. Probably some sort of rival or enemy. Seems to be a Saotome trait."

"Whatever, she looks likes she's going to start a fight right here and right now. We might as well join in," Konatsu said. The trio got up from their table and walked towards Ranma's.

----------------------------------------

"You demoness!" Sifu said angrily, pointing at Chiyeko. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, kill me now," Chiyeko said, banging her head against the table softly. So much for a 'normal' date.

"She's having dinner; what else does it look like, young lady," Ranma snapped. She blinked in recognition. "I recognize you. You're that girl who got in a fight with Chiyeko once. What are you doing here, don't you live in Nekomi?"

Sifu winced at the memory of the rather one-sided fight with the martially minded demoness. Deciding to ignore Ranma's awkward

question, she banged her fist on the table instead. "She's up to no good," she hissed through her teeth.

"You want a fight?" Chiyeko said, staring at the other girl. Morisato-san was the only other person she'd ever met with weird markings like her own, well, her and Auntie Hild. That didn't mean her instinctive dislike of the loony didn't overpower her curiousity, though. "You'll get all you can handle, grease monkey."

"I've picked up a few tricks, Goldilocks, you won't have such an easy time of it now," Sifu said, growling.

"Perhaps we could all just return to our own tables like civilized people," Atasuke said, inserting himself into the brewing catfight.

"Ranma! Prepare to DIE!" Ryoga yelled, landing on the table with a mighty descending blow from his umbrella and shattering it into a hundred pieces, with food flying everywhere.

"Nevermind," Atasuke said irritably as he kicked the older martial artist.

Ranma also kicked Ryoga, using the leverage of her chair to fling Ryoga backwards. Her longtime rival was launched into another table, smashing it and incidentally landing on several glasses of water. "Shit!" Ranma said, jumping up and fighting mad. "I can't have one stupid normal night out in my whole life!"

Konatsu took the opportunity to blindside Ranma, Chiyeko tackled him, Akane and Ukyo quickly joined battle, and soon the interior of the restaurant was quickly reduced to a battered mess.

----------------------------------------

"...and STAY out!" the maitre'd said, then turned and slammed the door. The dejected (and ejected) crowd of martial artists and one young goddess stood around glaring at each other for a few minutes before going their separate ways.

"Ahh," Ranma said, the sigh half frustration and half reminiscing. "Brings back memories, doesn't it, Ukyo?"

"Yeah, that used to happen on, what, a daily basis? Sometimes twice daily." Uyko nodded to herself. "I'm amazed we weren't put on some sort of restaurant blacklist, after the stunts we pulled back then."

Ranma stretched out her right arm; Pig-boy had gotten some good shots in and she didn't bounce back quite the way she used to. "Yeah, I need to agree with you there." She looked back at the two younger martial artists. "You two have been awfully quiet, you know?"

"..."

Ranma turned to Ukyo and shook her head. "These kids, they wouldn't have lasted a week doing the stuff we used to do."

"Hey!" the two said, feeling slighted.

----------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

----------------------------------------

Author's Note: I extol the wonders of carrots produced under the communist system...

Visit the Ranma Fanfic Forum (we moved!)

forum.anifics.com


	6. Chapter after 5

FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

Sifu Morisato was having a bad morning. First she had beaten  
herself up over her impulsive decision to confront the little  
demoness rather than just watch and report like she was supposed  
to, and then she had discovered that the hot water was out. Then  
she ran out of gas, meaning that she'd barely made it to the school  
before it started, rather than well before so she could get all the  
paperwork finished. The last straw was finding out that the parking  
lot was faculty only.

Which was why she was in the courtyard with her motorcycle,  
parking it among the pedestrian, muscle?powered bikes where it  
most certainly did not belong. This morning sucked, and she knew  
with divine intuition that it was going to get worse.

"Hey! Greasemonkey!" a familiar, hated voice called out.

How right she was.

Sifu looked up at the sky, silently asked her grandfather what she  
had done wrong to deserve a day like this, and turned around to  
glare at the young demoness perched on a handrail.. "What do you  
want, Chiyeko?" She noted that the boy from yesterday was still  
with her. Must be some sort of demonic contract or something.

"Nothing." Sifu turned back to the bike and decided to ignore the  
blond pest. "Just saw you in the parking lot. Don't tell me your  
family is moving to Tokyo..." Sifu stopped pretending to inspect  
the motorcycle and decided that she might as well harness the  
power of evil just this once.

"No, I moved here myself... to stay with my Aunt for a little. To,  
uh, teach me some of the secrets of the family art." There. Phrased  
in as many one?syllable words as possible and in terms her  
opponent could comprehend with her crude mind. Sifu smiled.

"Wow, I didn't know you had a family style of martial arts,"  
Chiyeko said, obviously interested.

"We're going to be late if we don't get inside soon," the boy said,  
checking his watch.

"Could you do me a favor and tell me where the principal's office  
is?" Sifu asked.

"Hell, I'll bring you there. Atasuke, tell the teacher I might be a bit  
late, helping the new student. OK?" Chiyeko answered  
energetically, then grabbed Sifu's hand and dragged her towards the  
front entrance.

Atasuke shook his head quietly and grinned. He wanted to talk to  
the new student. Well, that was a given ? she was female ? but he  
had reasons other than to flirt and maybe sneak a few photos of her  
in the locker room, if possible. But there was another thing that  
interested him about her. Other than Chiyeko, she was the only  
person he'd ever seen with those kind of markings on her head.

Although destined to be mortal enemies and worlds apart in acting  
like a civilized human being, there were some things that could  
unite Sifu and Chiyeko together, such as the shared disbelief they  
both felt confronting Principal Ninomiya.

Looking for all the world as if she just might be old enough to  
attend the school as a freshman ? maybe ? the principal almost  
swam in the oversized and overstuffed seat at her desk, and there  
was something faintly ridiculous about the stern expression she had  
as she looked back and forth from student to student. She looked  
down at the papers in front of her.

"I've read here that there have been... incidents between the two of  
you in the past." Her eyes flickered between the two of them. "I  
hope that whatever caused you to put your differences aside  
continues. I won't put up with the sort of shenanigans that went on  
in your father's day, Chiyeko, the way the previous principal did."  
She slapped a pile of papers in front of Sifu. "These are your  
schedule, a code of conduct, and assorted paperwork. Keep the  
schedule, fill out the rest, and return it. Saotome?san, bring  
Morisato with you. You two are in the same class. Dismissed."  
Principal Ninomiya turned to her computer, effectively dismissing  
the two from her personal universe. The two students retreated  
from the principal's office quickly.

"That was weird," Sifu said, looking back at the office door. "That  
girl doesn't look a day over fourteen."

"Mom says she was a teacher when she came to Furinkan,"  
Chiyeko whispered.

Sifu shook her head. "I refuse to believe that. Anyways, where's  
our class?" She thought she lucked out there, despite the fact that it  
would mean she'd probably want to shoot herself ? or Chiyeko in  
moments of mental clarity ? from the demoness's occasional violent  
antics. She could keep an eye on the person she was supposed to  
watch without any trouble.

"Just follow me."

It was later in the day that Atasuke had his first chance to talk to his  
new classmate without Chiyeko noticing. "Hey there!" he said,  
smiling warmly. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to introduce myself  
earlier." He bowed. "I'm Atasuke Ono. So, I take it you know  
Chiyeko?chan already?"

Sifu frowned. "You could say that."

Atasuke nodded. "I'm sorry, since she seems to be a point of  
irritation with you, but, well, I was just wondering how you knew  
her."

"Chiyeko and I went to the same school together for a while out in  
Nekomi, that's how I know her," Sifu said, then sat down on the  
windowsill. "We didn't get along very well."

"I can see that," Atasuke said. "I'm just wondering why... she  
seems nice enough."

Sifu growled. "I was our class president, and I'd never seen a  
student so casually dismissive of the school rules before..." she  
explained, giving several examples: "She never, ever wore the  
school uniform. Except for the fact that she's blond and has a tan  
and would stand out in any crowd, I wouldn't have recognized her  
today. She was always asleep in my class, always, and didn't care  
how disrespectful she was being to the rest of the class or the  
teacher. She just laughed off being sent to the hall with buckets.  
And that demoness would always insult me whenever I pointed out  
what she was doing was wrong. 'Bother someone who cares,  
Greasemonkey'. 'Who died and made you god?' That sort of  
thing."

"She still sleeps through classes," Atasuke said.

"At least she's wearing a uniform now," Sifu said.

"Chiyeko grew up on the road," Atasuke said, "and I gather that  
money wasn't always something that she and her mother had the  
luxury of having."

Sifu said nothing, being unwilling to think of the demoness as  
anything other than one of Hild's minions. "Actually she kinda  
looks like Hild," she mumbled absentmindedly.

Atasuke's head whipped around. "You know Hild?" he asked  
curiously.

'Oh h?heaven!' Sifu said, flinching. 'How the heck does he know  
about Hild? He's no demon...' "Well, not like I met her in person or  
something." A moment of inspiration. "My mother knows Hild."

Atasuke laughed. "Small world, then, that your mother knows  
Chiyeko's aunt."

'Hild has a brother?' Sifu thought confusedly. "Small world, I  
guess."

"There is one other thing I meant to ask you," Atasuke said,  
adjusting his glasses. Now, to get down to the real point of this  
conversation. "I wanted to ask you about those weird markings  
Chiyeko and you both have. What are those?"

Sifu froze. How was she supposed to explain this? 'Well, you see,  
those are goddess and demon markings, they're our links to heaven  
and hell. You didn't know your friend was a demoness?' wasn't  
going to cut it, even if she was inclined to blow her secret, which  
she wasn't. "Well, you see?"

"A?TA?SU?KE!" Chiyeko yelled, then latched onto his shoulder  
with an iron grip. "How dare you flirt with her in front of me!" she  
yelled, then pulled him into a side hallway.

Sifu clapped her hands together and thanked her grandfather for the  
lucky save, then quickly headed back to the classroom.

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Atasuke said frantically, as Chiyeko  
pulled him into an empty classroom.

"I know that," she said, then turned back to him. "I just wanted to  
warn you about miss high?and?mighty there."

"Warn me?" he asked, surprised. "About what?"

"She has it in for me. Always hanging around me like a shadow,"  
Chiyeko said. "Just because I didn't goose step to their silly rules,  
she would go around calling me a demoness and telling all the other  
students I was trouble."

"You weren't this annoyed with her this morning," Atasuke said.

"Mom told me I should try to start over with her and let bygones be  
bygones. But all she did was watch me all through class so far.  
She's not even our class president, what does she care?" Chiyeko  
ranted, pacing back and forth. "I offended the goddess of  
motorsports and now she's going to send bad thoughts my way,  
ooh, how mature."

"Just ignore her."

"Why did she have to come here?" Chiyeko said, ignoring him.  
"This sucks! Somebody up there doesn't like me."

Atasuke got up and stood in front of her. "Look, maybe you could  
just get this settled between the two of you. Talk it out. From what  
she said she doesn't sound to unreasonable." He looked at the still  
annoyed Chiyeko. "And if all else fails, you can always insult her  
some more."

"I guess it's worth a shot," she grumbled.

It was at lunch that Chiyeko had her chance.

"Hey there!" she yelled out, seeing that Sifu was babying her  
motorcycle again, and refraining from yelling out 'Greasemonkey'  
again because that would be, well, undiplomatic.  
Sifu looked up with a pained expression. "What do you want?"

Chiyeko held up her hands. "Whoa. All I wanted to do was  
apologize, maybe, for offending you with my very existence." Sifu  
snorted and turned back to her bike, which she studied intently.   
Chiyeko walked over and looked at it as well, although to her it  
was just a bunch of machinery she didn't understand. "Seriously, I  
was just going to ask if you could stop watching me all throughout  
class. It's really annoying."

'Crap, she noticed', Sifu thought. "Nothing wrong with it," she  
said, standing up and wiping her hands absently on her school  
uniform, having momentarily forgotten what she was wearing.  
"...damn," she said, having realized a moment too late.

Chiyeko laughed. "You dork. You better run to the locker room  
and try to soap that out."

"Then it'll be all wet. Forget it." She inwardly was annoyed that  
Chiyeko was here; had it not been for having a witness, a single  
little spell would have fixed her little mistake. Then she remembered  
who her witness was. "Hey, Chiyeko, keep an eye out for me." The  
bikes were fairly distant to the other students, and it wasn't like  
Chiyeko would really care if she used her magic like one of the  
other students would.

"Sure thing, why, you got a spare uniform in the bag?" she asked,  
pointing to the saddlebag. Chiyeko glanced around briefly.  
"Wouldn't it just be better to do this in an empty room?"

"Right," Sifu said. Why tempt fate... even if they were your mother  
and aunts?

A few minutes later Chiyeko gave a quick look in each direction  
before slipping into the PE equipment shed. "Nobody's coming,"  
she told Sifu. "You can change now."

Sifu nodded and concentrated briefly, then began speaking in the  
heavenly language. She floated off the floor slightly, glowing, then  
her symbols flared. Her clothes briefly shimmered and then  
reformed, and she landed lightly on her feet again.

She was quite surprised to see Chiyeko scared out of her wits and  
edging back towards the door. "What?" Sifu said, confused.

"AAAAHHHH!" Chiyeko yelled, then tore off the door and ran off  
like a bat out of hell.

"Yeesh..." Sifu said, and headed back to class. "What in heaven was  
all that about?"

"...and that's the whole story," Sifu said to Skuld, as the two ate ice  
cream. Skuld had found this place not a hundred yards from her  
apartment, with her unerring ice?cream homing senses. Sifu had  
wasted no time in relating the events of the past twenty?four hours  
to her aunt.

"You shouldn't have confronted her at the restaurant," Skuld said  
reproachfully.

Wince. "I know, Auntie..."

"But after that you did good enough. Be a little more discreet in  
watching her, though. You don't know how powerful she is, and  
she seems to take offense to you hanging over her head like an  
avenging angel. She's not going to cause trouble at school under  
your nose anyways."

"She's Hild's niece," Sifu noted. "She's probably plenty strong."

"And Hild is no cakewalk either. The Daimakaicho wouldn't take  
kindly to any injury to her niece, the same as she wouldn't to Urd."  
Sifu shuddered at the thought of being that far over her head on her  
first assignment. "I wonder what Father is up to, assigning you this  
mission? It seems more suited to someone more powerful, simply  
because of the possibility of Hild getting involved."

"Chiyeko is my age," Sifu said, taking a bite out of her sundae, and  
watching Skuld finish off her third. "That seems to be the logic  
behind it... I think."

Skuld shrugged. "I'd like to take a good look at this demoness  
myself."

"She looks kinda like Urd, but shorter and in better shape."

"I won't tell Urd you said that," Skuld said. "I'll claim that line for  
myself." Sifu laughed. "It makes sense, given that she's related to  
Urd ? a cousin. I wonder if Urd knows?" Urd could be cagey about  
her relationship with Hild, and Skuld still didn't know how well her  
sister knew her own mother. Skuld finished off her third sundae and  
watched Sifu finish off her first. "I guess that's it for ice cream... for  
now."

They paid and left, Skuld much happier than when she came. She  
looked down at Sifu. "Now, it's time to start teaching you how to  
really use your powers. It's very sad that Belldandy neglected to  
teach you how to transport yourself..."

"She knew how much I liked to go riding with dad, or on my own  
bike, later," Sifu said, feeling defensive.

"But that really needs to be fixed if there's a possibilty of a fight.  
Discretion can be the better part of valor, you know."

"Oh, all right..."

Meanwhile, across town, a very different conversation was taking  
place.

Ranma and Chiyeko were currently meditating while upside down,  
balanced on their heads, in the dojo. Chiyeko opened one eye warily  
and looked at her mother. "Mom?"

"Yes Chiyeko?" Ranma answered, not opening her eyes at all.

Chiyeko flipped herself back over and fidgeted for a few seconds.  
"Do you believe magic exists?"

Ranma fell over. "What?" she asked, now sitting normally. "I've  
seen things ? experienced things ? that can only be explained by  
magic. I've tried to shield you from that kind of thing."

"Oh," her daughter replied, now curious as to what magic Ranma  
had seen. "Er... I saw someone.. um.. It's Sifu." Chiyeko slid  
towards Ranma, and said quietly, "She's a witch."

"Sifu is a witch?" Ranma said, smirking. "I thought you considered  
her a bitch, not a witch."

"Mom, be serious!" Chiyeko complained. "She cast a spell today. I  
saw her cast a spell today," she elaborated, catching her mother's  
smirk. "She was chanting in some infernal language and glowed for  
a second, and then the oil stain on her skirt was gone."

"OK, so Sifu glows and cleans stains, and you glow and throw ki  
blasts that can blow holes in walls. Which one is weirder?"

"Ki blasts aren't magic!" Chiyeko said, annoyed. "Don't you find it  
disturbing that one of my classmates is a witch? She doesn't like  
me, she might put some kind of weird curse on me."

Ranma shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it, Chiyeko?chan. She  
would have put a curse on you before, if she was going to put a  
curse on you. Now I'm going to go take a shower and get over to  
the dinner table, and so should you. And I don't want to hear any  
whining about a diet, your training is intense enough that you don't  
need to worry about that."

"You eat like a pig, and I resent your attempts to make me a pig in  
your own image," Chiyeko said. Once her mother left, she practiced  
alone in the dojo for a while before getting bored and re?entering  
the house for a nice soak in the furo before dinner.

"Still," she said, still thinking about the magic Sifu had shown at  
school. "That was weird." She then considered the weird markings  
on Sifu's head. The only other person that she knew of besides  
herself and her Aunt Hild with the weird marks she had was Sifu  
Morisato. Chiyeko looked into the water and looked at the red  
trapezoid on her forehead, now not hidden beneath its usual  
headband. What the heck did those markings mean? They weren't  
'birthmarks' like Ranma dismissed them as. Hild had said that they  
were a family thing she'd learn about when she was older. Well,  
damnit, she was older, and she still didn't know... but she was  
going to ask Hild next time she saw her. "I sure hope we're not  
some other rival family of witches," Chiyeko said. "Though that  
would explain why Sifu seemed to dislike me from the moment she  
met me." Chiyeko got up and stretched. "Nothing like a good warm  
soak in the tub," she said, before picking up her towel and drying  
off.

She walked to the table with another towel around her wet hair and  
sat down, seeing Atasuke coming down the stairs. "Working out in  
your room?" she asked, noticing that he seemed a little out of  
breath.

"Yeah, since you two were working out in the dojo," he answered.  
Privately, he rationalized that he hadn't broken his word with  
Ranma. After all, he was no longer practicing Happousai's  
techniques or stealing panties... but she said nothing about peeping.

Of course, if she had known, she would have, but he ignored that.

Later that night, when everyone was asleep ? even Atasuke, who  
had watched his latest clip of Chiyeko taking a bath at least a dozen  
times before turning in ? storm clouds gathered over Nerima and  
thundere ominously as the winds picked up. The violent storm  
woke many, although not Ranma or Chiyeko, who could sleep  
through almost anything.

The storm built to a crescendo quickly, and at a nearby apartment  
Skuld and a groggy Sifu were watching the unnatural weather with  
displeasure. "Daimakaicho Hild..." Skuld murmured. "She's  
coming."

In the Tendo home, the person in question flew lightly through the  
guest bedroom window and landed silently next to Chiyeko. Hild  
reached out a hand and delicately traced the outlines of her  
daughter's demon markings. When she was finished, they flared  
briefly, and then dimmed.

"Soon, my daughter, soon," Hild whispered, then flew out the  
window. She knew that Ranma felt Chiyeko was strong enough,  
old enough, that she could confront the Amazons once and for all.  
It was high time for Chiyeko to learn the truth of her past... and for  
Ranma to learn the truth of her future.

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

Author's Note: Finally fixed the annoying FFnet formatting errors, I think.


	7. Chapter 7

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
-----------------------------------------  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
-----------------------------------------  
  
The Tendo home had seen this before, certainly. A martial artist  
sprawled across their futon and all but impervious to any attempts  
to wake them up.  
  
"Chiyeko-chan! Rise and shine!" Ranma said, flipping on the lights  
and opening the blinds. The rising sun shone directly on the  
sleeping girl's face, causing her to flip over and bury her head  
underneath the pillow.  
  
"...just one more minute, obaba..." Chiyeko mumbled semi-  
coherently.  
  
"Atasuke, take the blanket away," Ranma commanded her other  
morning sparring partner.  
  
He got a good handfull of her blankets and managed to yank the  
blanket away with difficulty as the half-asleep Chiyeko kept  
wrestling the warm blanket away from herself. Eventually he  
managed to completely get the blanket away from Chiyeko, who  
didn't let the lack of a blanket deter her; she balled up around the  
pillow and growled when he tried to take it from her.  
  
Ranma opened the window up and turned back. "Last warning,  
kid!" Receiving no reply, Ranma shook her head, picked Chiyeko  
up, and threw her out the window towards the koi pond. "Ahh,  
brings back memories!" Ranma said, as she jumped out the window  
herself, followed a second later by Atasuke. "Though you aren't  
usually as bad as I was, I'll grant you that."  
  
"Damnit Mom, that was dirty pool!" Chiyeko said, standing up in  
now soggy pajamas as she flicked a fish out of her hair. "Ewww!"  
she said, disgusted.  
  
"No, it's a dirty pond," Ranma corrected. "And a true student of  
Anything-Goes is ready for anything... and maybe next time you'll  
wake up on time."  
  
"Enough talk!" Chiyeko yelled, jumping out of the pond with a loud  
kiai. Ranma deftly jumped over the angry lunge, and Chiyeko  
vented her frustration on the unsuspecting Atasuke, who had been  
planning to double team Ranma with Chiyeko as usual.  
  
"So that's the game, you against everyone?" Ranma said lightly,  
firing off a light ki blast, causing Chiyeko to jump away in surprise.  
Atasuke jumped in with a flying kick - one that concentrated too  
much on perfect form instead of pure speed, in Ranma's estimation  
- and was thrown down as Chiyeko jumped up to meet him in mid  
air and forced him down.  
  
Springboarding off her fiancé's head, Chiyeko gathered energy for  
her own Moko Takabisha, and Ranma's eye widened, sensing just  
how much energy her daughter was tapping into. She dove out of  
the way as Chiyeko's ki blast mushroomed into a thick beam that  
vaporized the rock Ranma had been standing on and rattled  
windows throughout the block with the sound of its impact.  
  
Ranma didn't waste a moment, immediately rushing her daughter,  
who was standing there in shock at the crater she had just blasted.  
Off balance, Chiyeko only lasted a few seconds before going down.  
  
"Ranma? What was that?" Kasumi said, having come running from  
her kitchen at the sound of the explosion.  
  
"Oh, Chiyeko-chan here just surprised us all, that's it," Ranma said,  
looking at the wiped out Chiyeko with a critical eye. She seemed  
almost completely out of ki; apparently she'd managed to dump  
most of her ki in one huge blast. Might be useful for her as a last  
resort technique, Ranma judged.  
  
"Are they alright?" Kasumi asked, looking at the two unconscious  
teens. Atasuke had been knocked out simply by being too close to  
Chiyeko's ki blast.  
  
"They're fine, it wasn't anything serious," Ranma said, 'Although if  
Chiyeko had nailed him with that we'd be picking him up with a  
sponge...' she thought, looking at the crater again. "I'm going to  
bring Chiyeko in for her bath. Atasuke should be up any moment  
now, OK?" Ranma dumped her prospective son-in-law near the  
table and dragged Chiyeko into the bathroom.  
  
"All right, Ranma," Kasumi said, and put a warm cloth on her son's  
head.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
"Now spit it out, Chiyeko. You did something strange when you  
did that Moko Takabisha. You're just lucky you were trying to hit  
me - if you had aimed it at Atasuke, you would have killed him."  
  
"I didn't do anything different!" Chiyeko said, angrily splashing  
Ranma with hot water. "It just came out wrong!"  
  
"You poured all your reserves into that blast, and you say you did  
nothing different?" Ranma asked incredulously.  
  
"I didn't do anything different!" Chiyeko repeated herself, and  
crossed her arms over her chest. "It's my ki, it's acting funny. I - I  
wanted to concentrate my power, like you're supposed to, and it all  
just flowed into my gut without any resistance. It scared me and I  
pushed it all out. But I didn't do anything different!"  
  
Ranma studied her daughter for a second. Sure enough, Ranma  
could sense the ki flows in Chiyeko had changed somehow,  
although she couldn't tell exactly how; her daughter had always had  
strange ki patterns, her weirdly heavy ki being difficult to analyze at  
the best of times. But it certainly seemed to be more active than it  
had been. "I wouldn't try any ki techniques today, not until after  
school. You and I are going to practice basic breathing exercises  
until you can safely control your own ki again, young lady."  
  
"Aww hell," Chiyeko said, pouting. "I hate breathing exercises,"  
she grumbled. "They put me to sleep."  
  
"Might I remind you that you could have killed someone this  
morning?" Ranma said sharply, then got up. Her face softened.  
"Listen, Chiyeko, it won't be that bad. Likely you're just under a  
little stress. Stay in the bath until you're ready, OK? I know you  
like a nice long bath."  
  
Ranma left, leaving Chiyeko to soak in her own thoughts and the  
furo's hot water. She leaned back and immersed herself fully in the  
warm waters, and could feel the soreness and tiredness seem to  
dissolve in the water. Feeling fully refreshed, she got up a few  
minutes later, and sat down at the table for another traditional  
Saotome mealtime.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
'I should take a real long soak like that before school every day.  
It's like I didn't even practice at all,' Chiyeko thought to herself,  
ignoring the teacher and staring out the window. English bored her  
to tears, like every class except sometimes gym, and that was only  
because she got to run around a bit instead of being tethered to a  
chair. To top it off, she was horrible at learning foreign languages -  
after a whole year wandering Korea with her mother, she only  
learned how to say "Hello," "Goodbye," and "Where's the  
bathroom?" Giving up on the lesson, she fidgeted for a bit and then  
turned to watch Atasuke for a bit.  
  
She still wasn't sure what to make of him. Sure, he was cute  
enough, but having a fiancé plopped on a plate in front of her by her  
mother was annoying. Besides, he was a pervert. Of course, most  
of the boys were perverts around here; she had caught one trying to  
peek up her skirt when she was running on top of the fence to  
school and had slapped him so hard that you could still see the  
fading hand-shaped bruise on his face.  
  
She caught the eraser tossed at her head entirely on automatic pilot,  
and threw it back without having even registered catching it. "Miss  
Saotome!" the teacher yelled, as the eraser bounced off the  
blackboard. "Please try to pretend to pay attention to the lesson,  
instead of mooning over your boyfriend!"  
  
Mortified, Chiyeko grinned sheepishly and blushed, silently thankful  
that her naturally 'tanned' skin, which the other girls had teased her  
mercilessly about for years when she was younger, hid blushes just  
as well as the odd light bruise from training. She looked down at  
the lesson in front of her and concentrated on reading it, for once  
being ashamed into actually taking class seriously. She read the  
banal, simple English sentences for a few minutes, before she  
realized something important.  
  
She was reading the English sentences. And she didn't know  
English.  
  
"ACK!" she yelled, falling out of her chair as she tried to jump  
away from her book.  
  
"Miss Saotome! Buckets, hall, now!" the teacher yelled, as the  
whole class turned around to stare at her. He then pointed to the  
buckets stacked up neatly by the sink. Chiyeko nervously glanced at  
the textbook again. The sentences were incomprehensible English  
gibberish again.  
  
"Nice one, Goldilocks," Sifu whispered, then snickered, as Chiyeko  
passed her on the way to get the buckets.  
  
"It's probably your fault, witch," Chiyeko said quietly on the way  
back.  
  
"What?" Sifu said, turning in surprise.  
  
"Miss Morisato! Perhaps you and Miss Saotome could continue  
your conversation in the hallway, and leave those actually interested  
in learning in peace?" the teacher snapped, pointing to the buckets  
again.  
  
Once they were safely out in the hall, Sifu turned towards Chiyeko.  
"What was that witch crack about?" she demanded angrily.  
  
"You know what I'm talking about," Chiyeko said, taking a step  
closer to Sifu and glaring down at the shorter girl, daring her to  
make an issue of it. "Your uniform? The grease? A little light show  
in the equipment shed?"  
  
Sifu stood there in confusion, working her mouth. "But I'm not a  
witch! You should know that, you idiot!"  
  
"Witch!" Chiyeko said, then turned again and leaned against the  
wall. "But I guess it's not your fault."  
  
"No, that little drama in the classroom was probably you  
hallucinating or something. The fumes from your hair dye must  
have driven you nuts." Sifu knew that Chiyeko almost certainly had  
inherited her blond hair from her demonic parent, but the rumors  
that it was fake had never failed to annoy the taller girl back in  
Nekomi.  
  
Chiyeko gave her an evil glare. "And I thought it was the motor oil  
smell from your hair, Greasemonkey."  
  
Sniffing with mutual immaturity, the demoness and goddess both  
turned away from each other.  
  
Concentrating, Chiyeko reached within herself. She was still on  
edge from that strange little incident in the class, and forced herself  
to relax and release all the nervous ki she was holding in herself  
with some meditation techniques her mother had taught her. She  
breathed out and allowed that energy to escape in a brief pulse of  
power.  
  
Sifu looked at her suspicuous, having felt the release of demonic  
energies. 'What the heck is she up to?' she wondered.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Directly below her, as her power was slowly released, was a  
classroom containing the most famous teacher in Furinkan - famous  
for his complete eccentricity. Others would call it craziness; but  
Tatewaki Kuno was too rich to be crazy, and he had found his  
calling in life. He taught literature and coached the kendo team, and  
was universally loathed by his students.  
  
At the moment, Kuno-sensei was reading the class poems from  
other languages, something that usually was terrible because poetry  
usually lost a lot in translation, if not everything, but from their  
perspective incomprehensible gaijin gibberish about birds was still  
better than being forced to listen to Kuno's haiku.  
  
Kuno for his part actively enjoyed reading poetry, even strange  
gaijin stuff like Poe. However, he was growing irritated, because  
someone kept making a tapping noise ever since shortly after he  
started reciting the poem. Growing irritated, he signalled for the  
class rep to open the door and see what joker was out in the hall,  
tapping at his door.  
  
The class rep opened the door, then screamed and jumped back as  
an actual black raven came through the door and landed right on  
Kuno-sensei's desk. The whole class squirmed in their seats, unable  
to tell whether this was just freaky or something along the lines of  
the thunder Kuno-sensei seemed to create whenever he started  
getting more pompous than usual.  
  
The bird simply hopped along the desk and pecked at papers. Kuno,  
regaining his composure, swatted at the bird and forced it to  
abandon his desk for the window, cawing in annoyance. "Now that  
that is finished, we will return to the poem," Kuno said, and  
continued where he left off.  
  
The students kept switching between paying attention to Kuno and  
nervously glancing at the big black bird perched on the windowsill.  
"-tell me what thy lordly name is on the night's Plutonian shore.  
Quoth the raven-"  
  
"Nevermore!" it croaked in a terrifyingly creaky voice. Several girls  
fainted and other students yelled and nearly knocked over their  
seats at the unexpected sound.  
  
"Vile sorcerous beast!" Kuno yelled at the raven, and somehow  
managed to pull a bokken out of his hakama.  
  
"That wasn't part of the poem," one of the students said dumbly,  
and was smacked by several of his classmates.  
  
Kuno yelled out a loud kiai and chopped overhead, cleaving  
through wood and plaster, but missing the bird, which cawed  
mockingly and fluttered over to the teacher's desk. Planting his foot  
with a slight step backwards, he then shifted his hips and his weight  
and slashed at the desk, ripping the top off of it and smashing it into  
the blackboard; the raven flew and started flying about the room,  
causing the students to scream and try to avoid it, or whack it with  
thrown books or swung bags. Their teacher ran through them,  
leaping and jumping off desks and chairs, smashing many, and  
putting huge holes in the ceiling and walls until the half-wrecked  
door was torn off its hinges by an irate Principal Ninomiya.  
  
"What is going on here?" Hinako yelled, having come running when  
she heard the sounds of a classroom being trashed. She had been  
expecting something like this ever since a Saotome ended up back  
in Furinkan, but the Saotome girl wasn't even in this classroom.  
She pulled a coin out of her pocket and drained the class  
indiscriminately, changing into a middle-aged woman. She picked  
up the bird that apparently was the source of the chaos and threw it  
out the window, then turned to the weakened Kuno. "Kuno.  
Meeting. In my office. During lunchtime." She glared at him.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
The noise coming from downstairs had gotten the two girls'  
attention. "What the heck is going on down there?" Chiyeko said,  
after the sounds of yelling and furniture being smashed ceased.  
Several teachers had stuck their heads out of the classrooms in  
curiousity, along with a few students. Chiyeko was almost  
interested enough to simply skip class and check on whatever was  
going on, except that she'd undoubtedly be busted by the teacher  
tomorrow and whaqtever was going on apparently finished before  
she nerved herself up to leaving in the first place.  
  
"How would I know?" Sifu said, still irritated that Chiyeko had  
gotten her in trouble. She was a goddess; she wasn't supposed to  
get in trouble, her aunt Urd to the contrary. Thinking of Urd made  
her regard Chiyeko for a moment, then snort.  
  
"What?" Chiyeko said, turning to the shorter girl.  
  
"Nothing. I was briefly thinking you reminded me of someone,"  
Sifu said. "You're different, though." She paused. "More thuggish  
and tomboyish." She smirked.  
  
Chiyeko considered the merits of pouring her buckets on Sifu's  
head, then decided to stew in silence.  
  
"Well there, I hope you've learned your lesson, girls," the teacher  
said after opening the door. "Come back inside and finish your  
lessons. No more outbursts from you two in class, understand?"  
  
"Yes, teacher!" the two chorused.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
It was halfway through the next class of the day that the next  
strangeness occured. Chiyeko was beginning to lean over and look  
tired and run down, and it got Atasuke's attention. "Hey Chiyeko,"  
he asked, curious. "What's the problem?"  
  
"Nothing," she said, then looked away as her stomach growled.  
  
Atasuke grinned. "Sounds like you're hungry," he observed.  
  
"No, I'm not," Chiyeko said as she worked on her math. She put  
her pencil down and turned in her seat so she could face Atasuke.  
"I'm not hungry."  
  
Her stomach growled again, louder this time.  
  
"Your stomach says otherwise," Atasuke noted.  
  
"Fine then, I'm hungry. Are you happy?" Chiyeko turned back to  
her work and sniffed. Actually, she was a little hungry, but that  
wasn't what had her down. She felt like she did after she fired off  
several ki blasts, or as if she had been pushing herself all day. She  
really wanted a bath and a nap, not food, although food seemed a  
really nice idea right now. Especially with lunch so soon.  
  
"No need to bite my head off," Atasuke grumbled. The two  
returned to working on their math.  
  
From time to time, Chiyeko kept returning to the thought of food.  
Now that Atasuke had her thinking about it, she really wanted a  
bite to eat. They still had an hour to go, though.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Down in the cafeteria, food poured out of pots and pans in an  
amorphous mass, as the cafeteria laides first edged away, then fled  
in terror. Bread buns formed eyes, as bannanas sank into the  
widening gape a new-formed mouth. Sandwiches rose on its back  
like spines, and it took steps on mashed-potato legs, a horrible  
mishmash of food items that left soggy, soupy footprints, as it  
stalked the halls looking for its creator.  
  
Opening its mouth, it let loose a bestial roar, and smashed aside the  
door to the stairwell.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
"What the hell was that?" Chiyeko said, as the rest of the class  
looked around in confusion.  
  
"Pay attention to your lessons," the teacher snapped. "They're  
probably watching a movie in the next classroom!" The students,  
admonished, turned back to their work. All except for three, that is.  
"Miss Saotome, Miss Morisato, Mr. Ono. Perhaps you three are  
finished, and need more work?"  
  
"Something's coming," Sifu said. "Something big."  
  
"Definitely," Chiyeko said, ignoring the novelty of agreeing with  
the Morisato girl.  
  
Atasuke did nothing and frowned. He knew that, sadly, Chiyeko  
horribly outclassed him in fighting, and he'd be relegated to backup  
duty in the coming fight.  
  
The door was splintered into matchsticks as the food monster  
barged into the room, its breath an unpleasant reek of random  
soups and tea.  
  
"What the fuck is that!" Chiyeko yelled, before jumping out of her  
chair as the thing leapt at her. The chair she vacated was crushed  
immediately.  
  
"It's a monster!" Sifu said, grabbing her schoolbag. Her magic  
really wasn't up to this, and it wasn't something she wanted to  
advertise in a roomful of students anyways. Hopefully Chiyeko  
would keep the thing occupied until she could get her thermos and  
cellphone out. "Everyone get out!" she yelled, trying to hustle  
students out the door. Not that they needed much encouragement'  
most were already fleeing through the door at full speed.  
  
Dodging the attempts of the thing to grab her, Chiyeko bounced off  
the walls as she scrambled for room to maneuver. The thing  
shrugged off her best blows, and after what happened this morning,  
she wasn't keen on trying the Mouko Takabisha even if she wasn't  
too concerned about how much damage she caused to this thing - if  
it didn't work, she'd be almost completely out of gas.  
  
Atasuke wisely kept his distance and smashed it with chairs and  
tables, having seen that physical attacks were meaningless against  
this monster. "Chiyeko! Shouldn't we just run?"  
  
"You nuts? It's chasing me!"she yelled. Which was about par for  
her life - if a monster broke into a room and wasn't after her, it was  
because it was after her mother.  
  
"I'll distract it long enough for you to escape," Atasuke said  
bravely.  
  
"I'm not running!" Chiyeko yelled again, staying out of the  
monster's claws. It didn't seem to be putting out any hot ki, so the  
Hiryu Shoten Ha was straight out. "Sifu! Blast this thing with witch  
magic!"  
  
"I'm not a witch!" Sifu yelled back as she opened up her cellphone  
and speed-dialed Aunt Skuld. Upon a closer look, that thing was  
powered by demonic energies. A rival trying to take out Chiyeko?  
she wondered. If so, they had to put a stop to it. The Doublet  
System would make that equally fatal for a god.  
  
Chiyeko grunted and gave serious consideration to using some  
forbidden techniques her mother had recently taught her. Sure,  
she'd get in trouble, but she might manage to wiggle out of it by  
telling her that she'd have just blasted the thing if she could have  
used a Mokou Takabisha, but you told me I couldn't use one,  
Mom! "Screw that," Chiyeko said, and hopped back, gaining some  
room. "Sifu! Atasuke! Hit the deck!"  
  
"I've called for help, just run!" Sifu said, ignoring her and holding  
up the cellphone. Behind her, her untopped thermos was open for  
Skuld.  
  
"KIJIN RAISHU DAN!" Chiyeko yelled, whipping her arm back  
and letting loose with a deadly vacuum blade, which sliced through  
one of the food monster's arms, causing it to fly apart in a messy  
explosion of food, and incidentally distracting her and her fiancee  
from the arrival of Skuld, who got slimed by flying, well mixed  
foods.  
  
Only briefly distracted by being splattered, Skuld let fly with one of  
her handcrafted explosives. "Skuld bomb away! Fire in the hole!" It  
sailed into the monster's mouth perfectly. Skuld and Sifu  
immediately hit the floor, as did Atasuke, leaving Chiyeko to be  
knocked over by the force of the blast (and flying food) as the thing  
was blown to smithereens.  
  
She bounced back up quickly enough, then caught notice of Skuld.  
"Aha! Another witch!" she said.  
  
"Witch?" Skuld said, confused. Then she took a good, long look at  
Chiyeko, blinked, and walked over to Chiyeko slowly, who backed  
away from her nervously.  
  
The wall of the classroom - now scorched, splattered with food,  
and definitely not winning the Good Housekeeping seal of approval  
- stopped Chiyeko from backing up any further. "Back off," she  
told Skuld. "I'm a martial artist," she said, staring at the blue  
tattoos on Skuld's head. "Try any magic witch stuff on me and  
you'll regret it." Her eyes flicked over to Atasuke for a second; her  
fiancee looked like he was readying himself to jump Skuld if he  
attacked her.  
  
Skuld continued to examine her for a few moments more. "You  
look like my sister," Skuld said finally.  
  
"She's too thuggish," Sifu chimed in from the other side of the  
room.  
  
"Hey!" Chiyeko said angrily. "You're one to talk, motorhead!"  
  
Skuld ignored the two's bickering and compared the girl in front of  
her to Urd. She resembled Urd far too much for it to be  
coincidence, whatever Sifu's thoughts on the matter were. "Do you  
know Hild?" she asked without preamble, even though it seemed a  
stupid question - every demoness knew Hild.  
  
"Auntie Hild?" Chiyeko said, confused.  
  
"It figures," Skuld muttered. If Hild was her aunt, that meant that  
she was Urd's cousin. "You are related to my sister."  
  
Chiyeko looked over Skuld's shoulder, a horrified expression  
crossing her face, equalled only by the surprised one on Atasuke's.  
"You mean that Greasemonkey here," she said, pointing a shaky  
finger at the other girl, "Is related to me?"  
  
"I'm afraid so," Skuld said.  
  
Chiyeko fainted.  
  
DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Author's Note: More work done! Hurrah and frabjulous joy!  



	8. Chapter 8

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
-------------------------------------  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
-------------------------------------  
  
"Ah," Chiyeko said, after Skuld had explained things. "So that  
means I'm not really technically related to Gr-, uh, Sifu after all?"  
  
"I guess," Skuld said. Truth be told, she didn't know what to call  
the relationship between your mother's half-sister's cousin and  
yourself anyways.  
  
"This place has good ice cream, I've been here before," Chiyeko  
said happily. The four of them had left school, Principal Ninomiya  
having sent the class home until the room was fixed, and promising  
Chiyeko that she was going to call her parents about this mess.  
Skuld had decided to drag them off to the ice cream parlor as both  
a peace offering and also to buy time for Urd. Her sister might not  
like to acknowledge the fact that Hild was her mother - something  
that even Sifu hadn't known until today - but she always  
appreciated meeting family.  
  
"I've got to go to the restroom," Skuld says. "Just order me a  
double sundae with sprinkles, hot fudge, and extra strawberries.  
Any flavors, I don't care. Plus a waffle cone, chocolate chip. And a  
double scoop of chocalate in a bowl, with hot fudge on top." She  
stuffed money in Sifu's hand and went into the ladies' room.  
  
Chiyeko and Atasuke looked at Sifu incredulously. "She likes her  
ice cream, what can I say?" she said, shrugging. She then turned to  
the kid behind the counter, glanced at the flavors in the display, and  
reached a quick decision. "Praline for me, with nuts and sprinkles."  
  
"Just one scoop of strawberry," Chiyeko said. Ice cream was a rare  
treat for her, especially since her mother embarrassed her whenever  
they ate it together. By Ranma's standards, Skuld was a piker, and  
Chiyeko figured that only a psychotic training regimen even demons  
would hate kept her mother from putting on weight - from ice  
cream, or any other food. She personally preferred a little less crazy  
training, herself... on the other hand, she certainly trained enough to  
have just a little more. "Uh, make that two. With hot fudge."  
  
Atasuke simply ordered a single scoop of vanilla (with fudge) and  
stood a bit closer to Chiyeko. He didn't like the looks that she was  
getting from the counter worker.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"Urd, pick up Urd," Skuld grumbled into her cellphone. She had  
dialed her older sister twice (and Belldandy once, in between, just  
to fill her in on what was happening) and gotten voice mail. "Isn't  
the third time the charm?"  
  
"Hey Squirt, whaddya need?" Urd said, as obnoxious as ever.  
"Need some time off from running herd on the kid?"  
  
As tempting as it was to dump the situation entirely on Urd - both  
the teenage demoness and the currently-on-Midgard Urd - she  
knew that she really couldn't do that.  
  
After all, she wasn't Urd. She smirked.  
  
"No, nothing of the sort," Skuld said, and had an evil idea.  
"Actually, we just wanted to have you come down and split some  
ice cream with us." The look on Urd's face would be priceless; too  
bad that she didn't have a camera here on Midgard.  
  
"Ahh, I don't know about that," Urd said, clearly uninterested.  
  
"Come on, Urd," Skuld said pleadingly. "I figured afterwards we  
could go get drunk and think up pranks to pull on Keiichi."  
  
"Hmm," Urd said, clearly interested now. Ever since their sister's  
marriage, the rivalry the two had over the relationship had vanished,  
to be replaced by the one thing that truly united the two Norns -  
harassing Keiichi. "That sounds good. You have a videophone,  
right?"  
  
"Yep, and it's on." Skuld held the phone out, facing the wall; Urd  
came through just a few seconds later and brushed herself off. She  
took one look at her younger sister's face and frowned.  
  
"Uh oh," Urd said.  
  
"'Uh oh' what?" Skuld said.  
  
"That face. You're playing some sort of trick on me..." Urd said,  
then bent down to look under the stalls for Belldandy or (more  
likely) Sifu.  
  
"Am I really that transparent?" Skuld asked.  
  
"Uh huh," Urd said, nodding.  
  
"Well, let's not disappoint you, then," Skuld said, and dragged Urd  
into the ice cream parlor.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Skuld smiled. The gods were with her (naturally) and Chiyeko was  
seated in the near side of the booth, where Urd couldn't see her yet.  
Perfect. "Well, this doesn't seem too bad..." Urd said, guardedly.  
  
Skuld's smile turned into a smirk. "Prepare to be amazed." Sifu  
noticed the two and looked over, smiling as she waved to her aunt  
Urd. Chiyeko and Atasuke got up and looked, their jaws  
dropping...  
  
...much like Urd's. Skuld basically had to pilot Urd into the booth  
herself, then sat down next to her, so that Urd was directly across  
from Chiyeko. "Meet your cousin," Skuld said conversationally.  
'There we go, I got you back for shocking me when I found out  
Hild was your mother!'  
  
"Wow, you really resemble Chiyeko," Atasuke said, as surprised as  
his fiancee. "She mustn't take after her mother's side of the family,"  
he observed. Inwardly, he was drooling; if Chiyeko grew up to look  
like that, he'd never be able to thank his parents - or rather,  
grandfather - enough for this whole arranged marriage thing. Ever.  
  
"Atasuke, why are you crying?" Sifu asked, confused.  
  
"Ice cream headache," he answered at once. "You can't eat it too  
fast." Sifu looked at the as yet untouched ice cream and decided to  
ignore that remark, instead choosing to push the chocolate ice  
cream to Urd. Not that she noticed.  
  
Urd opened and closed her mouth a few times before managing to  
get something coherent out. "Well, it's obvious you're related to  
my mother."  
  
"Wow, Auntie Hild is your mother?" Chiyeko said, coming out of  
her own shock. "That would be great. She's much cooler than my  
own mother."  
  
Urd smirked. "Oh, really? You've spent time with Hild?"  
  
"Yeah," Chiyeko answered, her eyes lighting up. "First, she always  
teases Mom about my Dad. Which is kinda cruel 'cause my father  
was kidnapped or killed by Amazons or something," Sifu blinked. A  
demon had been taken out by mortals? It must have been when she  
was very young, or else she would have heard about it because of  
the doublet system and the corresponding death of a god, "but, you  
know, it's sort of like an old joke between them or something. And  
then she takes me shopping, usually. My mom absolutely hates  
shopping. She doesn't usually approve of the stuff Hild buys me  
lately, either."  
  
"My mother has interesting taste in clothes," Urd said, as she  
started to eat her own ice cream. Skuld was already halfway though  
hers, having started when Chiyeko started talking.  
  
"Yeah, so do you," Chiyeko said, as Atasuke nodded slightly.  
"Anyways, Auntie Hild's a lot more fun than my mother. I mean, I  
like Mom, but sometimes I think that if you can't beat someone up  
with it, she's not interested in it." She looked a little depressed. "I  
think it's because my father died, and my mother never got over it."  
She smiled again. "You must have had an interesting time growing  
up with Hild as your mother."  
  
"I was raised by my father, actually. I almost never saw my  
mother," Urd said, the ice cream immediately turning bitter in her  
mouth. The barrier between them because of Urd's loyalty to  
heaven was the most depressing thing in her life.  
  
Chiyeko blinked. "Why not?" she asked, with typical Saotome  
thoughtlessness. Then her brain caught up to what she had said, and  
immediately regretted bringing up what by all appearances was a  
painful subject.  
  
"Because I chose my father," Urd said, not really wanting to say  
anything else. This demoness cousin of hers should be able to figure  
out the rest.  
  
"Ahh, messy divorce, huh?" Chiyeko said.  
  
Urd smiled dryly. "You could say that."  
  
Sifu leaned over to Urd. "She doesn't know we're goddesses," she  
whispered. "Actually, I'm not convinced she knows she's a  
demon." Urd blinked in surprise. That was strange.  
  
She tapped her fingers. Last time she could think of a situation like  
that was that Hercules guy. Well, it didn't matter, and besides, she  
could learn more about her mother this way. "Got any funny stories  
about my mother?" Urd said, leaning forward.  
  
"Oh, sure!" Chiyeko said, "But you have to promise me you won't  
tell her I told you this..."  
  
Atasuke suddenly realized, with crystal clarity, that he was going to  
be trapped with gossiping girls for at least an hour. Not that he was  
going to complain, in this case...  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Ranma stood on a rooftop not too far away, completely unaware of  
the conversation her daughter was having right now. She was  
waiting for someone she hadn't seen in two years, who had sent a  
letter telling her to meet her here. "So there you are," she said,  
sensing him arrive. Then she turned around to face him. "Pantyhose  
Taro."  
  
He frowned. "You know that's not my name... fem-boy."  
  
Ranma smirked nastily. "The one you chose isn't any better, by my  
estimation, Dai Taro."  
  
"Yeah, but I chose it," the cursed boy said, smirking. "I'm in.  
Always fun to beat around the Amazons." He stretched one arm,  
then the other. "Of course, I always picked on the ones who were  
already married."  
  
"Beating up helpless mothers," Ranma said, shaking her head. "You  
ought to be ashamed of yourself." Taro laughed, that irritating  
laugh all his own that infuriated anyone who heard it. "Yeah, I  
know, I beat up Shampoo after she was married."  
  
"My only regret is that I didn't get to kill Happousai," Taro said.  
"That little pervert never did change my name, right up until the  
end. But I guess you did, right after he died and you became  
grandmaster, so I suppose I owe you one. However distasteful I  
might find it. So I'll join in your little catfight tournament."  
  
"You shouldn't bullshit me, cowboy, you know you'd get a kick  
out of beating up the Amazons anyways," Ranma said, rolling her  
eyes. "But I thank you for your help anyways."  
  
"As polite as ever, I see," Taro said.  
  
"And you as well," she pointed out. "Neither of us love each other,  
I know that. Anyways. I'm planning on talking to everyone  
together tonight, now that you're here, and going over final plans.  
Training, travel, the whole nine yards."  
  
"I don't need any training," Taro said. He had grown older, fiercer,  
and, to be honest, even more ruthless than before. If it weren't for  
the fact that Ranma had spent the last seventeen years training  
obsessively, she'd even admit he'd probably be better than her...  
reluctantly. And only after a fight to prove it.  
  
"I was talking about the others. They don't live to fight the ways  
you or I do. Or Ryoga, for that matter."  
  
"Piggy doesn't train like you or I do," Taro snorted.  
  
"Only because of his kids. He does as much as he can, otherwise,"  
Ranma pointed out, reasonably. "Anyways, I'll see you tonight, go  
knock yourself out in the bars or something."  
  
"Yeah, I'll go see if the women around here have improved in  
looks. Last time I was here, the best looking ones were guys," Taro  
said, disgusted. Then he grinned. "And if I see any kogals, I'll be  
sure not to pick them up... they might be your daughter." He  
ducked the ki blast Ranma threw at him and dropped off the edge  
of the roof, laughing.  
  
"What an asshole," Ranma said, shaking her head. "Well, at least  
he's on my side."  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"You know, for an evil demoness from the pits of Nifelheim, she's  
not so bad, I guess," Sifu said reluctantly as she left the ice cream  
parlor with her two aunts. "I mean, she's still an irritating jackass  
and all, but I guess she's not really so terrible."  
  
"Actually, I thought she was pretty nice," Urd opined.  
  
"She's your cousin!" Sifu said. "You're biased!"  
  
"Of course I'm biased. How could I disagree with someone who  
shares my beauty?" Urd said playfully.  
  
"She does look a lot like you," Skuld said, remembering the line she  
told Sifu she'd steal. "Except younger, shorter, and in better  
shape."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Sifu laughed, remembering when she had told Skuld that. "I agree!"  
  
"Don't start ganging up on poor old Urd here," she said, looking  
down at Sifu with one eye, pretending to be angry. "Anyways," she  
said, shifting gears, "it was nice to be able to talk to her about my...  
about Hild."  
  
Skuld nodded. "I know what it means to you, Urd."  
  
"Thanks," Urd said, slapping Skuld on the back. "Now, about that  
round at the bar, and harassing Sifu's dad..."  
  
"I'm not hearing this," Sifu said, clapping her hands over her ears  
theatrically. "Maintaining plausible deniabilty! I have nothing to do  
with whatever you're planning to do to my poor father, and I won't  
tell my mother you're planning anything." She skipped ahead, then  
opened the door to the apartment building she was staying in.  
  
"She probably suspects us of planning a prank anyways," Skuld  
said.  
  
"This is our sister we're talking about, squirt, she suspects nothing  
of anyone," Urd said.  
  
"Mom isn't that naive," Sifu protested.  
  
"Yes she is, and you know it," Urd said, wagging her finger. "I  
remember a boy who had a crush on you, and you convinced her he  
was just a friend."  
  
"He had a crush on me because of your love potion," Sifu said  
accusingly. "And it took a week to straighten out."  
  
"Details, details... that doesn't disprove my point, though... Keep  
the light on for us, Skuld will probably need it."  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"I'm hooo-ooome!" Chiyeko yelled as she took off her shoes,  
announcing their return, then noticed the number of shoes in the  
entranceway. "Wow, there some kind of party here tonight or  
something?"  
  
"First I've heard of it," Atasuke said, curious.  
  
"Not really, just a reunion of old friends, you could say," a familiar  
voice answered.  
  
"Auntie Hild!" Chiyeko said happily, and ran over to her. "I haven't  
seen you since-" She was cut off by one of Hild's suffocating hugs.  
  
"-you were last in Kyoto!" Hild said, squeezing the poor girl.  
  
Chiyeko managed to extricate herself from Hild's octopus-like grip  
and bounced back. "Auntie Hild!" she said, "I'd like you to meet  
my fiancee-"  
  
"Atasuke Ono," he finished, hoping for a hug of his own.  
  
"He's cute!" Hild said, then seemed to have finally heard Chiyeko.  
"Wait, fiancee?" she asked, frowning.  
  
"Old agreement," Chiyeko said by way of explanation.  
  
"Yep. By our grandparents," Atasuke added helpfully.  
  
"Well, at least we can't blame Ranma for it, right?" Hild said  
happily. There was a glint in her eye that Chiyeko didn't quite trust,  
and she decided to deflect her aunt's attention as quickly as  
possible.  
  
"Hey, do you know someone named Urd? She claims she's my  
cousin," Chiyeko said.  
  
"Urd?" Hild said, surprised. Her expression then turned into a  
knowing smile. "She's not your cousin."  
  
"She was pretty insistent on it," Chiyeko said dubiously.  
  
"Trust me, Chiyeko, she's not your cousin," Hild said, patting her  
on the head.  
  
"She looks a lot like me, too," Chiyeko added, frowning.  
  
"I do know Urd, though," Hild said thoughtfully. "Where did you  
run into her?"  
  
"At an ice cream parlor near the school, actually," Chiyeko said,  
then decided to ask the most obvious question. "Auntie, why are  
you here? And who else is here?" Chiyeko asked, gesturing to the  
shoes.  
  
"Oh, just old friends of Ranma's, lending a helping hand," Hild  
answered playfully. "You know how she is about the Amazons.  
Well, she wants to go and fight them."  
  
"To get my father back, or to avenge him? She's not too clear on  
that," Chiyeko said, "and I was kind of hoping someone would  
clear that up."  
  
"You will see your father again, don't worry," Hild said, then  
walked over into the living room, Chiyeko and Atasuke following  
behind, curious to see who else was there. "Hey! Chiyeko's home,  
Ranma!" In the room were what seemed to be every person her  
mother knew, from Ryoga and Ukyo to Taro and Shinnosuke.  
Also, the principal was there.  
  
"So there you are," Ranma said, walking over to Chiyeko and  
mussing her hair. She gave Atasuke a quick glance before returning  
her attention to Chiyeko, who had moved away and was fixing her  
hair. Ranma smiled. "Skipping class, huh?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Well, this monster kinda trashed parts of the school-" Chiyeko  
said.  
  
"-so the principal sent us home," Atasuke finished. "But I imagine  
Ninomiya-san told you that."  
  
"I know, she came straight here to tell me. Now, Chiyeko, could  
you do me a favor?"  
  
"I guess," Chiyeko said warily, wondering what her mother wanted  
her to do. "What do you need?"  
  
"Eh, Ryoga's kids are here, and I don't need them running wild  
while we make our plans. I just need you and Atasuke to keep an  
eye on them." She shoved a wad of yen into her daughter's hands.  
"Go rent them a movie or something, I set up the TV in the dojo."  
  
"Sure thing, obaba," Chiyeko said, sketching a short bow and then  
leaving the room. She jumped up onto the rooftops and escaped,  
Atasuke struggling to keep up.  
  
"He's come a long way in a short time," Ranma noted. "When we  
got here, he couldn't do that at all."  
  
"So, Ranma, when are you going to tell her?" Hild asked, curious.  
  
"Tomorrow," Ranma said, with an air of finality. She then turned to  
the others and adopted a much more serious air. "So, let me tell  
you what's going to happen..."  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Chiyeko hopped down off the roof of the video store easily, and  
waited for Atasuke to catch up. He dropped down, breathing hard.  
"Honestly, how hard did your aunt train you?"  
  
"Not hard enough," Atasuke said between gasps.  
  
She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside the rental place. It was  
a dim, dark collection of DVDs arranged in rows, and even some  
old VHS tapes in the back, looking positively ancient. The whole  
place seemed to have an atmosphere like it was one minute to  
closing time, all the time. It was a creepy place, and Chiyeko  
paused just inside the doorway to take it in.  
  
"Can I help you?" a weak voice said, right next to her.  
  
"Arrgh!" Chiyeko said, jumping away. She got a good look at the  
guy who had startled her. "You're not a martial artist! How'd you  
sneak up on me?"  
  
"I'm the kind of person nobody notices much," the shop manager  
said, smiling sickly.  
  
"Gosunkugi likes to surprise people coming in the store," Atasuke  
said. "He's been like this ever since I was a kid."  
  
"I haven't seen you in a while, Atasuke," Gosunkugi said, as he  
walked back to his countertop. "Is this your girlfriend?"  
  
'What a creep,' Chiyeko said. "Actually, I'm his finacee."  
  
"An old promise between our families," Atasuke said, adjusting his  
glasses.  
  
"Ahh, yes," Gosunkugi said, as if remembering something.  
"Anyways, what can I do for you?"  
  
"We actually just needed to rent a kid's movie or something,"  
Atasuke said.  
  
Gosunkugi shrugged. "They're right in the front, so help  
yourselves." He sat down and turned on a TV by the register, then  
unpaused the horror movie he was watching.  
  
"What a weirdo," Chiyeko whispered to Atasuke.  
  
"He's pretty cool once you get to know him," Atasuke said, used to  
Gosunkugi's creepiness. "This one looks like it will keep the  
attention of two kids," he said, holding up a brightly colored action  
anime.  
  
Chiyeko regarded it dubiously. "Better get another, just to be sure,"  
she said, grabbing another disc from the same series. "You've never  
tried babysitting Hibikis before."  
  
"Why? What makes these kids worse than other kids?" Atasuke  
asked, genuinely confused. His eyes lit up. "Oh! I get it! It's  
because they're being trained in the martial arts, right?"  
  
"No, it's because if you don't keep an eye on them they'll wander  
halfway across town before you can track them down," Chiyeko  
said, remembering the last time they had dropped by the Hibiki  
house, years ago. The twins would be worse now - they could  
move faster, and thus get lost quicker.  
  
After paying for the rentals, they returned home to find Ryoga  
Hibiki in the dojo with his twin boys. "Oh, good," Ryoga said,  
seeing the two. He turned to his children. "Now you two be nice  
for your big sister Chiyeko, right?"  
  
"Ok, Dad, sure thing," Hideo, the oldest, said.  
  
"Don't run off, either. It isn't fair to Chiyeko-chan if she has to run  
halfway across town to find you," Ryoga said to his other son  
sternly.  
  
"I was only going for candy," Hikaru said unhappily.  
  
"You mean you weren't kidding about having to track down the  
kids?" Atasuke whispered.  
  
"If you want food, ask Chiyeko to get it for you," Ryoga said. "The  
pigs aren't here to help you wander off."  
  
"Not that they always help in keeping them from wandering off,"  
Chiyeko muttered.  
  
Ryoga got up and walked over to the two of them. "Well, they're in  
your hands now..." He trailed off, looking thoughtful for a minute.  
  
"Atasuke, lead him back to where my mother and everyone is,"  
Chiyeko said. "He'll get lost for sure otherwise." Confused, as he  
hadn't had any prior contact with Hibikis before, Atasuke shook his  
head and walked the short distance back to the house. She looked  
at the twins and shook her head. "You know what, I bet the women  
in your family don't have nearly as bad a time as you guys. They  
probably ask directions once in a while." She picked up the first  
disc, titled 'Deadly Martial Artist Space Gerbils', and wondered  
briefly if she'd come out of this with her sanity intact, before  
popping the disc in the DVD player and sitting back.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Author's Note: More work done! Hurrah and frabjulous joy!  



	9. Chapter 9

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
-------------------------------------  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
-------------------------------------  
  
After several hours of watching the twins, Chiyeko was ready to  
scream. The blonde-haired martial artist had suffered through  
several hours of pointless, plotless kid's action anime, and, although  
it kept the two Hibiki twins out of trouble (and several Japanese  
cities), it was really annoying her. Atasuke had actually fallen  
asleep, the jerk, or he had until she picked him up and threw him in  
the pool. The still wet boy had taken off his shirt, however, so she  
figured she got at least something from this wasted night.  
  
She heard the door slide open behind her and turned. "Granny!" she  
said excitedly. "I didn't know you were here!"  
  
Nodoka smiled and sat down by her granddaughter. "Ranma asked  
that her father be over tonight, to see if he could help out." Nodoka  
frowned; it had taken the threat of the sword to get Genma to assist  
in Ranma's plan to regain her lost manhood. "But I came by as  
well, to see my loveliest granddaughter," she added.  
  
"I'm your only granddaughter," Chiyeko said, smirking.  
  
"Hopefully that will change someday," Nodoka said. She had plans  
for Ranma's wedding - big plans, and that was the other thing she  
wanted to talk about tonight, if she could find Hild.  
  
"You need to speak to the obaba about that," Chiyeko said. "I  
don't think she likes dating much."  
  
"I imagine so," Nodoka said conversationally.  
  
"Though I did get her to go out with that Ukyo guy," Chiyeko said  
thoughtfully. "So it might not be a lost cause. That date kinda  
ended in disaster, though." She scratched her head nervously. "We  
kinda got thrown out of a restaurant."  
  
"Ukyo is a girl, Chiyeko," Nodoka said with a small smile. At least  
Ranma's tastes hadn't changed in all these years.  
  
Chiyeko's eyes (and those of Atasuke) widened in surprise.  
"You're kidding me! I just thought he - I mean she - was really  
bishounen!"  
  
"Ukyo is definitely a girl. Your father went out with her for a while,  
when he was your age," Nodoka said, deciding a little of the truth  
wouldn't hurt. "Ranma probably decided to go on a date with her  
for old times' sake."  
  
"She seemed happy to go out with Ranma... wait, that waitress!  
She probably... you know, likes girls." Chiyeko frowned, then had a  
slightly panicked look. "Does that mean that Mom... like, is into  
girls?" She developed a slight eyetwitch.  
  
Atasuke suddenly had a nosebleed, and pinched it off, hoping that  
no one had noticed. His mind continued to keep imagining  
amazingly hentai images with Ranma and other women, however.  
  
Nodoka paused for a second, uncertain of how she should phrase  
this, then decided to punt. This really was something that Ranma  
was going to have to deal with. "It could be. This is something that  
you should bring up with your mother, though."  
  
Chiyeko shook her head violently. "Nuh-uh! That is one thing I'm  
not bringing up over breakfast!" She adopted an airheaded tone:  
"'Excuse me, Mom, but are you a closet bisexual?' Mom would  
turn white as a sheet, then red as Atasuke's nosebleed!"  
  
"I hit my nose on the rocks in the pond, when you threw me out  
there!" the guilty party said, protesting his innocence.  
  
"Yeah right!" Chiyeko said, then playfully stuck out her tongue  
before returning to her grandmother. "I'm not touching that with a  
ten foot pole, granny."  
  
"Probably for the best after all," Nodoka said serenely. "So this  
here is Atasuke. You do resemble your father strongly, young  
man."  
  
"Thank you," Atasuke said, nodding. "I hope that someday I can  
live up to his example."  
  
"As a doctor?" Nodoka asked, curious. He'd make a good husband  
for Chiyeko in that case.  
  
"Actually, I was thinking about becoming a teacher," Atasuke said.  
  
"That would be good as well," Nodoka said. "Hello, Genma," she  
said as the retired martial artist walked in.  
  
He slowly sat himself down and attempted to look serious and  
noble, and failed utterly in the latter. "Girl, I understand that Ranma  
thinks she has trained you fully in the Saotome School of Martial  
Arts," he began.  
  
"That's right. Mom says I'm better than she was at my age,"  
Chiyeko said, flexing her arm. "And I've learned every technique  
she's taught me."  
  
Genma grunted thoughtfully. "You seem sure of yourself. Well,  
we'll see about that."  
  
"What do you mean?" Chiyeko asked angrily. "You don't think I'm  
good? I'll show you how good I am!"  
  
"Now, that's not what I meant!" Genma said, pleadingly.  
  
"Then what are you saying, husband?" Nodoka said sternly. "It  
certainly sounds like you are questioning her skills to me."  
  
"I'm not questioning her skills!" Genma protested. "I'm questioning  
her drive, her ambition in the art-"  
  
"I've got plenty of ambition in the art, you fat old fool!" Chiyeko  
said. Her mother rarely respected her father, and she had seen why  
from an early age. "I'm just not obsessed like you or Mom! I want  
to do something else with my life, too!"  
  
"Like what?" Genma challenged, as if nothing could possibly be  
more important than the martial arts.  
  
"Like what?" Nodoka said, much more interested. "Being a  
mother?" Visions of greatgrandchildren danced in her head.  
  
"Um," Chiyeko said. She hadn't really given it that much thought -  
she just knew martial arts wasn't the only thing she wanted to do in  
life. "I dunno. Something." she said lamely.  
  
"It's things like this that make me question your dedication to the  
art," Genma said thunderously, jabbing a finger at her.  
  
"Oh, stuff it, gramps," Chiyeko said, glancing to make sure that the  
twins were still watching that damn anime. Sure enough, they were,  
and Hideo had even fallen asleep. Good. "I'm not in the mood to  
argue about it."  
  
"So tell me how well school is going," Nodoka said, deciding to  
head off the lecture that Genma was surely going to go into. "I  
understand you had a bit of a fight today..."  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"Honestly, Mom, sometimes gramps gets on my nerves," Chiyeko  
complained after everyone had left.  
  
"He gets on everybody's nerves from time to time, Chiyeko-chan,"  
Ranma said. She seemed unduly excited, Chiyeko noted, almost like  
she was a kid waiting to open Christmas presents.  
  
"What are you so worked up about? I thought we were heading to  
China next week?" Chiyeko said, her eyes narrowing.  
  
"We are, but tomorrow's a big day, too," Ranma said.  
  
Chiyeko searched her brain and came up empty. The blonde looked  
at Ranma quizzically. "What's so big about tomorrow?"  
  
"You'll find out... tomorrow," Ranma said, winking with her good  
eye. "Now get some sleep. You'll thank me tomorrow."  
  
"Whatever you say, obaba," Chiyeko said, rolling her eyes.  
Whatever. "I'm taking a bath first, though." She headed over to the  
bathroom for a nice long energizing soak before turning in for the  
night, apssing Atasuke as he walked up the stairs.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Chiyeko sat in the tub, soaking in its warmth. She didn't care what  
her mother said about breathing and getting in touch with your ki -  
this was how she got in touch with it, like she was in touch with the  
basic life force of the universe, whenever she sat in the steaming  
waters of the bath. She closed her eyes and laid her head back,  
relaxing in the penetrating heat of the furo.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" a familiar voice asked. Chiyeko opened her  
eyes to see Hild standing there in a towel.  
  
'I hope I look that good when I'm that old,' Chiyeko said. Aloud,  
she said, "Sure thing, Auntie. I'm just taking a soak before bed."  
  
"I just wanted a quick bath myself," Hild said, as she took off the  
towel and scrubbed down with soap.  
  
"Say, there was something I meant to ask you about," Chiyeko  
said, moving over to the other side of the tub.  
  
"Yes," Hild said. "What is it, Chiyeko-chan?" Her aunt could be so  
cutesy sometimes.  
  
"What's with the birthmarks or whatever these are?" Chiyeko  
asked, pointing to the red symbols on her forehead and cheeks.  
"Sifu Morisato and her aunts have them, and you and I have them  
too. Theirs are blue, though. But what are they?"  
  
Hild continued to scrub for a few seconds, then sprayed herself off.  
"What do you think they are?" she asked, as she climbed into the  
tub.  
  
"Uh," Chiyeko said, not really having much of an idea. "I kinda  
thought they were some sort of magic thing." She was reluctant to  
talk about Sifu's use of magic; she had been nervous enough talking  
to her mother about it, and she knew after some of the stuff she had  
been through that her mother might actually believe her. She hadn't  
really planned on telling anyone else, though. She sat back down in  
the water, sloshing some over the edge, and slouched forward in  
one corner of the furo as she made room for Hild.  
  
"Some sort of magic thing? Like gods and demons and such?" Hild  
said, a wide grin nearly splitting her face as she settled down in the  
tub.  
  
"Now that you mention it... I guess it is kind of silly to think that,"  
Chiyeko said.  
  
Hild didn't say anything in response to that, instead lying back in  
the tub the way Chiyeko had. After a minute of silence, Chiyeko  
decided to prod her. "Well? What are they then?"  
  
"I'll tell you some other day," Hild said, not opening her eyes.  
  
Chiyeko splashed her. "Fine, then, be that way."  
  
Hild laughed and got up. "Well, I'll tell you what," she said, as she  
reclaimed her towel. Her eyes darted to the side as she got a clever  
look to her face. "They're related to the kind of ki you use, and the  
kind Sifu uses. People with marks like this don't have normal ki,  
and they can do things that people with normal ki can't do." She  
looked down at Chiyeko. "Does that satisfy your curiousity?" she  
asked with a smile.  
  
"So I could do stuff the obaba can't?" Chiyeko said, her face  
unreadable for a second. "Stuff that she couldn't do? Like what?"  
  
Hild shrugged as she turned around. "You'll have to find out on  
your own."Chiyeko narrowed her eyes at this nonresponse, then  
grabbed the bar of soap by the tub and chucked it at Hild to express  
her thanks. Hild turned around and blew a kiss, one that intercepted  
the flying bar of soap and blew it into a thousand pieces, then put a  
hole in the tile wall. Hild left the stunned Chiyeko back in the tub.  
  
"Crap, I never knew she was a martial artist," Chiyeko said, as she  
regained control of her senses. She poked absently at the hole in the  
wall her aunt had just created. "I've never seen a technique like that  
before," she said idly. Her eyes widened. "Is that one of the  
techniques that only we could do?"  
  
Chiyeko tried blowing a few ki kisses at the wall unsuccessfully,  
then gave it up. "I'll figure that out soon enough," she said to  
herself, then sat back and relaxed in the tub again, staring at the  
ceiling lights, lost in thought. Then she noticed a glint of glass in the  
light fixture and frowned. "What's that?" she said.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"It's NOTHING!" Atasuke said, having lip-read Chiyeko's mouth.  
"Absolutely nothing!" He saw Chiyeko stand up and examine it  
closely, her expression hardening into a scowl.  
  
"Oh, crap!" he said, looking around his room for a quick escape  
route. He opened his window, turned off his computer and then  
dove under the bed.  
  
"ATASUKE!" Chiyeko's voice boomed through the house,  
followed quickly by an 'Oh my!' and a "Grab a towel, young lady!"  
from Ranma.  
  
'Thank you Ranma, I have five extra seconds to live,' he thought,  
as Chiyeko was delayed. However, it was only a few seconds  
before his door was torn off its hinges. He heard Chiyeko open his  
closet, then could see her feet walk over to the window.  
  
"Damn, he escaped," Chiyeko said angrily. "He's going to pay for  
this," she promised, then sat down on his bed.  
  
"What are you so angry about?" his mother asked.  
  
"He, uh..." Chiyeko paused, and Atasuke's heart was pounding as  
he waited for her to rat him out. "I wanted to get on his case about  
him falling asleep while watching the twins," she finished lamely.  
  
"Right," his mother answered, with a level of sarcasm that he had  
only heard from his aunt Nabiki before. "What was it, really?"  
  
"....he had a video camera in the bathroom," Chiyeko said softly. " I  
was going to pound on him for being a perv. Privately."  
  
"Oh, dear." The disappointment in his mother's voice was like a  
physical blow to him. "I will handle this, Chiyeko. You get to your  
room, alright?" He heard some grumbling from Chiyeko, then  
shuffling of feet as she left. As soon as she had, his mother closed  
the door and walked straight over to his bed. She bent down and  
picked up the blanket hiding Atasuke from view and frowned at  
him. "You used to hide under your bed when you were in trouble as  
a child, too, Atasuke," she said.  
  
"I'm sorry, mom," he said, mortally embarrassed.  
  
"I'm not the one you have to apologize to," she said, then  
continued. "I raised you better than this, Atasuke. You shouldn't be  
peeping on girls like this."  
  
Atasuke wisely decided to remain silent.  
  
"Antagonizing your fiancee isn't very helpful, young man. You will  
apologize to Chiyeko, and you will make amends for your  
behavior."  
  
Atasuke nodded.  
  
"And if I hear of any more of this kind of behavior," she continued,  
"I'll... I'll take away your computer. And I'll tell Ranma and Hild  
that you had were watching them in the bath."  
  
Atasuke gulped in horror. Having to deal with an angry  
grandmaster. "It won't happen again," he said feverently.  
  
"Good." His mother left without a further word, and Atasuke laid  
back on his bed and counted his blessings. Ranma wouldn't know.  
"Thank god," he said, before falling into a nervous sleep.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
The next day, Chiyeko had managed to finally put last night's little  
adventure behind her, mentally, and concentrate on the coming day.  
"So why is today so important, obaba?" she said, as she fended off  
Ranma's attempts to force-feed her.  
  
Ranma paused in her assault - the main reason Chiyeko had asked -  
and then put her chopsticks down. Seeing a rare opportunity,  
Chiyeko unloaded half her plate onto Ranma's, before eating what  
was on her plate. Ranma glared at her, then picked her chopsticks  
back up. "What today is, is the day that you will demonstrate your  
mastery of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."  
  
Chiyeko dropped some of the food she was about to eat, then put  
her chopsticks down. The rest of the table looked at them,  
surprised, as Ranma had told none of them of her plans. "What do  
you mean?"  
  
"I mean that you've been an excellent student, and I feel that you  
should no longer be considered a student of the art." Ranma quickly  
inhaled the food on her plate, then wiped her mouth off with a  
paper napkin. "You and I are going to fight today, to see if I'm  
right. Not spar. Fight." She fixed Chiyeko with a look. "I'm not  
holding anything back, and neither should you."  
  
Chiyeko sat there in shock a bit longer. "So you want me to beat  
you up?" Chiyeko asked.  
  
"It won't be that simple, child," Ranma said, her face hard.  
  
After a few moments, Chiyeko turned back to her food and  
resumed eating it. "What, you're not worried?" Ranma asked,  
trying to get a rise out of her.  
  
"You're just trying to get my nervous, obaba!" Chiyeko shot back.  
"I'll beat you, and then I'll gloat about it to your father!" She stuck  
out her tongue.  
  
"You're not taking this seriously!" Ranma said, smacking the table  
angrily.  
  
"Why should I take this seriously?" Chiyeko said, turning her back  
on Ranma. Like her mother, her poker face was horrible, so she  
didn't want her to see that she was just trying to get her goat - and  
succeeding. "This is just one of your stupid kung-fu movie moods,"  
she continued. "where you get all dramatic. I'll kick your ass, you  
old woman, but you can't make me take it seriously."  
  
"Fine then!" Ranma said, "follow me!"  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Chiyeko looked around. It was a muddy flat stretch of ground, with  
the canal to her right and a thick sloped concrete wall to her left.  
"So this is where you want to fight, huh?" Chiyeko said, still  
pretending to not take the fight seriously.  
  
"The ground here is soft," Ranma said, "so it won't hurt too bad  
when you get knocked out."  
  
"So, are we going to start?" Chiyeko said, standing around as  
casually as can be, but her eyes fixed on her mother like a hawk.  
  
Ranma nodded. "Right now!"  
  
The afterimage of Ranma lingered for a split second before Chiyeko  
reached out and deflected her mother's opening attack. They were  
roughly even in speed, as the two traded blows with one another  
for a few seconds, then jumped back apart. "Not bad," Ranma said,  
"but can you hit what you can't see?" She faded from sight, her  
aura vanishing with the telltale shimmer of the Umisenken.  
  
Chiyeko countered by cloaking herself in the Umisenken as well.  
'She's nuts!' she thought. 'She told me these techniques were  
sealed!' Suddenly a sharp punch connected, and she managed to  
block a few more sheerly by instinct. 'Mom's got an edge,' she  
thought. 'Time to neutralize it.'  
  
She backed into the canal, where the none-too-clean water swept  
by, and located her mother by the disturbances in the water after  
she splashed in. The water would rob her blows of any force, so she  
simply settled for a simple ki blast. The concussion of the water as  
the blast hit her mother was like a slap in the face, and it had  
disrupted Ranma's concentration enough to knock her out of the  
Umisenken. She hopped forward in the water, grabbed her mother,  
and threw her as far as she could out of the water, then followed  
her.  
  
Ranma answered her with her own Mokou Takabisha as she came  
out of the water; Chiyeko dodged a second and canceled a third out  
with one of her own. She then closed in on her mother, leaping into  
the air, and was met in midair. An inch's reach was all that was  
necessary for Ranma to come out on top, and Chiyeko crashed  
down to the concrete slope. She jammed a finger in the concrete,  
using the breaking point, and then ran off to buy a few seconds  
time.  
  
She jumped up to the rooftops and fired off a quick Mokou  
Takabisha to try to gain some seperation as her mind worked  
frantically. The two of them were too evenly matched, too well  
known to one another for this match to hold any surprises. Her  
mother would win, unless she did something unexpected. But what?  
The kiss thing that Aunt Hild had used last night came to mind...  
but she hadn't figured out how to do it yet.  
  
Then again, gambling on it was her best bet..  
  
Chiyeko stopped, noticing that she had run to Furinkan High.  
"Finally decided to stop running, huh?" Ranma said coolly.  
  
"I've got a few laps left in me," Chiyeko said flippantly. "I just  
figured that an old lady such as yourself couldn't take it," she  
continued, giving her most aggravating smirk.  
  
"You're trying to piss me off, Chiyeko-chan, but you forget that  
I'm the one who taught you that," Ranma said, smiling herself.  
  
"Well then, come and get it," Chiyeko said, winking. Ranma darted  
forward just as she was putting her fingers to her lips; she tried to  
concentrate her ki there, instead of in the stomach like she did with  
a normal ki-blast, and let fly. The results weren't what she was  
hoping for, coming out instead as a pencil-thin blast that caught  
Ranma in the shoulder and spun her around, but it was enough.  
Chiyeko jumped in and savaged her with a flurry of blows, hoping  
to end the fight before her mother could get her bearings.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Ranma smiled. At that moment, she knew she had succeeded with  
Chiyeko, as that was no technique she had ever shown her. She  
didn't care whether it was invented on the spot; or if Chiyeko had  
picked it up somewhere; it meant that her daughter picked up  
techniques the way she did. That didn't mean she was going to roll  
over and die on her, though, and she flipped a small white  
firecracker in Chiyeko's face. "Gah!" Chiyeko said, jumping away  
from the small bomb. That gave Ranma her own opening; she  
reached forward, grabbed her daughter's shirt, pulled her into a  
kick to the face, and then twisted around and threw her on the roof  
of the Furinkan gym.  
  
She followed immediately, landing right behind Chiyeko and not  
giving her the chance to get up. kicking her back down when she  
tried getting up and raining Mokou Takabishas on her when she  
attempted to fight back from the ground. Finally, she stood over  
Chiyeko and studied her as she looked up defiantly. She smiled.  
There was another level to her daughter, and she'd shock it out of  
her today. "You know, I never did tell you the truth about your  
father, Chiyeko" she said.  
  
"You've promised I'd see him again. Was that a lie? Did the  
Amazons just kill him?" Chiyeko said, angry at the beating she had  
just taken.  
  
"They tried," Ranma said, smiling. "You see, Chiyeko, I am your  
father."  
  
"NO!" Chiyeko yelled. "That's not true, mom, it's not possible!"  
  
Ranma smiled. "I am the black haired boy in the family photos,  
Chiyeko. Your grandfather wasn't the only one to fall in the springs  
at Jusenkyo."  
  
"But I've seen you in hot water!" Chiyeko protested, her eyes wild.  
"You're lying! You lied to me now, or you were lying to me  
before! How could you lie to me, mom, how could you?" She  
raised her fist at Ranma, concentrated all her strength behind it.  
"You bastard!"  
  
The ki blast tore the roof off the gym, and Chiyeko came to later to  
find the person she had thought was her mother lying there,  
knocked out. She walked over, all the anger having been drained  
out of her by that last titanic blast, and picked up the unconscious  
redhead.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
"Welcome back, Chiyeko, I see you won," Kasumi said, then  
noticed who Chiyeko was dragging behind her. "What happened to  
your mother?" Kasumi said, shocked.  
  
"I don't know. But I beat the hell out of my father," Chiyeko said  
tonelessly, and dropped Ranma by the table. She sat down and  
looked at the redhead's face, her expression unreadable. "Hild is my  
mother, right?" she asked, not looking at Kasumi.  
  
"Yes. Hild is your mother. And Ranma is your father. The Amazons  
locked his curse." Kasumi took a deep breath, hoping that Ranma  
had done the right thing.  
  
"Then that's why she said Urd wasn't my cousin," Chiyeko said,  
realizing something. "That smartass!" Kasumi blinked, not  
understanding what was going on. Chiyeko slapped Ranma several  
times, until she came to groggily.  
  
"You bastard!" Chiyeko said, angry again. "You never told me I  
had a sister!"  
  
Ranma and Kasumi looked at each other in confusion, then Ranma  
quickly sat up and looked her daughter straight in the eyes. "Since  
when do you have a sister?"  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.  
  
-------------------------------------  
  
Author's Note: HE'S.... ON.... FIIIIIIIIRE!  



	10. Chapter 10

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
-------------------------------------  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
-------------------------------------

Ranma and Kasumi looked at each other in confusion, then Ranma  
quickly sat up and looked her daughter straight in the eyes. "Since  
when do you have a sister?"

"Since I found out that my mother was really my father and my aunt  
was really my mother!" Chiyeko exploded angrily, fixing a betrayed  
glare on Ranma. "That was - wait, you didn't know?" Chiyeko said,  
Ranma's question having finally penetrated.

"No, I know nothing of any sister of yours," Ranma said. "What are  
you talking about?"

"Um, I was talking about Urd, Sifu's aunt," Chiyeko said.

"Her aunt?" Ranma said, confused.

"Yeah, her mother's older sister," she continued. "She-"

"Wait, wait," Ranma said, interrupting. "Her mother's older sister?  
How? Hild was my age when I met her! Sifu's your age, even if her  
mother had her at the same age... that doesn't add up!"

"Urd looks a lot like me though, and a lot like Hild," Chiyeko said,  
frowning.

"Maybe they're sisters?" Kasumi said, offering her take.

"No, she definitely said that Hild was her mother. I was there,"  
Atasuke said, putting his two cents in. "And Skuld and Sifu said  
that too, and none of them seem the type of people who would tell  
lies about that kind of thing."

"This makes no sense," Ranma said, rubbing her head.

"Ranma," Kasumi asked tentatively, "how old is Hild, anyways?"

Ranma opened her mouth and closed it several times. "She would  
always tease me when I asked her, saying I shouldn't ask a woman  
her age," Ranma said. "I honestly don't know. She looks like she's  
my age. That's all I can say for sure."

"You don't know her age?" Chiyeko asked, surprised.

"She dodges the question!" Ranma retorted. "But she definitely  
looked like she was my age when I met her, and she still looks my  
age now."

"Maybe it was the mushrooms," Kasumi said.

Ranma's eyes lit up. "Of course! The mushrooms!"

Both teenagers looked back and forth, completely lost. "Time out!"  
Chiyeko said, "What mushrooms? What are you two talking  
about?"

Kasumi looked at Ranma. "This would be your story, Ranma."

"Yeah," she said, then collected her thoughts. "Ahem. When I was  
Chiyeko's age, or a little younger, actually, Ryoga found these  
strange mushrooms on one of his journeys-"

"-On a quest to find the mythical men's room at the mall, no  
doubt..." Chiyeko added under her breath

Ranma glanced at her by way of warning her to shut up. "-and they  
changed your age. However long they were determined how old  
they would make you. Small mushrooms made you young, and  
large ones made you older." Ranma paused. "So, if she ate a small  
mushroom after she had Urd..."

"...Then things make sense. She'd look as old as you did," Kasumi  
finished.

"Magic age-changing mushrooms," Chiyeko said, rolling her eyes.

"I have pictures," Kasumi said, with an evil gleam in her eyes.

"I thought I paid Nabiki to get rid of those!" Ranma groaned.

"Let me see!" Chiyeko said, suddenly more interested in Ranma's  
magic mushroom story.

"Hey!" Ranma said, deciding to get things back on track. "There  
are more important things than photos of mini-me!"

"No, there isn't!" Chiyeko said somewhat angrily. "I have no idea  
what you really look like... I mean... er..." She seemed to be lost in  
thought for a while. "The boy in chinese clothes... that was you?"  
she squeaked, stifling a laugh.

"Yes," Kasumi said, as Ranma twitched.

"That boy that Granny always referred to as 'the man among  
men'?" Chiyeko said, now laughing openly. Ranma twitched a few  
more times, but restrained herself until Chiyeko got it out of her  
system. Once she had calmed down - "I'm sorry. There's something  
very wrong about my mother being a man among men. Er, the  
person I thought was my mother."

Ranma composed herself once again. "So, Chiyeko has a half-sister,  
and Hild never told me. Interesting." Ranma seemed to think it was  
more than interesting, it was a betrayal of trust. Her eye glinted  
dangerously. She turned to Kasumi. "Where is Hild, anyways?"

"She left while you were fighting Chiyeko. She said she had to meet  
someone today," Kasumi said.

"I bet I know who, too," Chiyeko said, grinning.

"She must be over Sifu's place!" Atasuke exclaimed.

"Exactly," Chiyeko said, nodding.

"Then that's where I'm headed," Ranma said, seriously. "I'll call up  
Hinako and ask her where Sifu's living."

-------------------------------------

Ranma hung up the phone after dialing up the principal. "Well,  
that's settled. Now I'm going to get some answers, because my  
weird meter is pegged and it's been on TILT for years," she said.

"I'm coming too," Chiyeko said.

"When did I say you weren't? You're lazy, not curious," Ranma  
said playfully as she walked away."Kasumi, you should probably  
put our dinner in the fridge - we may be running late." She waved  
goodbye and headed out the door.

"I am not lazy!" Chiyeko retorted. "I just do more than sleep, eat,  
and do martial arts!" She quickly followed her father out the door  
and down the street as Ranma walked towards Sifu's house at an  
unhurried pace. Chiyeko stared at her disbelievingly. "And you  
accuse me of being lazy, obaba? I mean oyaji... arrgh..."

Laughing, Ranma turned her head. "Can't decide how to insult me,  
huh?"

"No, I know just how to insult you. Crossdresser! Crossdresser!"  
Chiyeko sang out, pointing to Ranma, and earning a sharp look  
from the older martial artist. "But that wasn't what I meant. Usually  
you at least walk on the fence or something."

"Oh," Ranma said, as if wondering how anyone could accuse her of  
wanting to do such a thing, then turned away nonchalantly. "Well, I  
figured you earned the right to be called a master of the art and all,  
so I should go easy on you." She smiled. If Chiyeko didn't rise to  
that bait like a trout to a fly, she didn't know her daughter half as  
well as she thought she did.

"You probably just figure that you couldn't keep up jumping across  
the fences and rooftops, you old man in an old woman's body!"  
Chiyeko said, in that most irritating obnoxious-Saotome tone of  
voice that was almost a technique unto itself. "Biiidah!"

"Oh yeah? Is that so? Then try to follow me, grasshopper," Ranma  
said, and immediately jumped onto the nearest fence and ran along  
the top of it.

Chiyeko smiled. This was kid's stuff, literally kid's stuff as Ranma  
had made her practice this since she was in kindergarten (1).She  
jogged along it easily, keeping pace with Ranma, who occasionally  
looked back and smirked. "A walk in the park, obaba!" she yelled  
out, deciding for the moment that Ranma really was an old woman,  
not an old man, whatever her paternal status might be. It was bound  
to piss her off more, at any rate.

Ranma just yelled back, "I'm just getting started!" as she ran along.  
They eventually came back to the canal, where their fight earlier in  
the day had been. The damage was still unfixed, though some  
official workers seemed to be marking the damaged areas. "This is  
where we separate the girls from me," Ranma said, and jumped out  
onto the canal - and ran across the top of the water.

"No way!" Chiyeko said, awed by that impressive feat. She  
couldn't believe her father was running across the water like that,  
and looked closely to see how she was doing it, ignoring the  
triumphant look on her father's face. Then she noticed the secret of  
Ranma's amazing trick: she was actually stepping on tiny objects in  
the water and stabilizing them with her ki. "Bah! A cheap trick!"  
she yelled out, even as inwardly she was impressed, and jumped out  
over the canal, landing on a small branch in the water.

She almost splashed into the canal, having underestimated the  
amount of power needed to keep the stick steady, but managed to  
jump to the next twig in time to avoid taking a bath. Soon enough  
she was catching up to her redheaded father, even if her pants were  
a bit wet from a few near misses. "Was that all you got, or are you  
going to show me something really hard?" she taunted, as she  
pulled alongside Ranma.

Ranma grinned. "A chip off the old block, I see. How about this  
trick?" Leaping towards the side of the canal, Ranma twisted  
around and landed on it as if it were solid ground. Then she started  
running along the side of the wall, defying gravity.

Chiyeko shook her head in disbelief and jumped up to the top of the  
wall. She couldn't even feel any aura around her father; either  
Ranma was suppressing her ki more than she thought possible, or  
she was running along the side of the wall using some other means.  
Pacing her along the top of the wall, it took Chiyeko a while to  
figure out Ranma's trick: she was somehow gripping a seam in the  
concrete with her toes.

"No fair!" Chiyeko said. Her shoes weren't flexible enough to even  
try that, unlike the thin slippers Ranma favored. She slowed down,  
hopping on alternate feet until she got her shoes off, then jumped  
down and ran along the seam herself. Unlike Ranma, she was  
straining to hold herself to the wall, and straining even more to  
make up the distance she lost by taking off her shoes.

Then, unexpectedly, the canal wall under her feet blew apart,  
knocking her into the water with a tremendous splash. She emerged  
to find Ranma perched on the wall laughing at her. "What the heck  
was that?" Chiyeko said, wiping her hair from her eyes.

"Just something I cooked up. A little surprise for the Amazons,"  
Ranma said, then peered down at her soaked daughter with her one  
good eye. "Of course, I thought you might notice it. Being my  
daughter and all." There was a brief pause, as Ranma adopted a  
transparently fake sorrowful look. "Perhaps I went too easy on  
you."

"Yeah right," Chiyeko said. "If you fed me to a pit of cats when I  
was a kid, I think Hild would have words with you... among other  
people."

"I'd never feed you to a pit of cats," Ranma declared virtuously, as  
Chiyeko jumped up beside her.

"No kidding. How could you get the cats?" Chiyeko said, wringing  
her shirt out as best she could without looking indecent. "I  
remember when we were training in Korea, and you were cowering  
in the bathroom because a stray got in and was pawing the door."  
Curling her hand like a paw, she crossed her eyes and meowed at  
Ranma a few times.

"There's a rat in your hair," Ranma said suddenly, her eyes  
widening in surprise.

"WHERE?" Chiyeko screamed, grabbing at her hair for a few  
seconds in a wild panic before realizing what Ranma was after. She  
narrowed her eyes. "That was a low down, dirty trick."

"I'm glad to see you still respect me for something, Chiyeko."

-------------------------------------

They reached Sifu's apartment without further incident. "Pretty  
small place," Ranma asked as she walked up to the building.

"Her parents still live back near Nekomi Tech in that temple,"  
Chiyeko said. She'd only been there once... or rather, just outside  
it. Something about that temple had spooked her badly, though she  
wasn't about to admit that to her mother. Father. Whatever.

"Why isn't she going to school there, then?" Ranma asked. Another  
weird mystery. Well, perhaps she'd just ask Sifu directly, and get an  
answer. She pressed the buzzer marked MORISATO.

Soon enough, the chipper face of Sifu Morisato appeared at the  
door, immediately turning into a frown upon seeing her guests.  
"Chiyeko. Saotome-san," she said tonelessly.

"It's good to see you too, Morisato-chan," Ranma said happily,  
putting on an energetic smile. She felt it was doomed to failure,  
though; the younger girl always seemed to treat her like a  
messenger from hell or something. Chiyeko managed a half-smile  
herself. "I just wanted to ask a few questions, if you don't mind."  
Seeing Sifu's dubious look, she pressed on. "About Urd... Urd and  
Chiyeko."

Still looking like she'd rather be somewhere else, Sifu nodded. "I  
guess..." she said lamely, then led the way back to her room. Upon  
entering, she called out: "Auntie Skuld! We have guests!" She then  
turned to Ranma. "Skuld is Urd's sister, so it's probably better to  
ask her." Ranma nodded, having noted that Sifu seemed too wary  
of her to really be comfortable talking to her for this anyways.

Skuld and Ranma sized each other up. Skuld had the advantage, of  
course, of having reviewed Ranma's files from Yggdrasil an hour or  
so ago, which brought up all sorts of interesting information - and  
even more interesting questions.

Ranma glanced at Sifu for a moment, then returned her gaze to  
Skuld. "You look more like her mother than her mother does,"  
Ranma noted.

Skuld laughed, defusing the tension in the room. "She resembles  
her father more, actually. And her Aunt Megumi."

"I'm more interested in her other aunt, Urd, I believe?" Ranma said,  
deciding to get right to business.

"Urd stepped out a few minutes ago, she had someone to meet."  
Skuld said blandly, deciding to see where Ranma was going with  
this, as she sat down at the table. "Would you like some tea?"

"No thank you," Ranma said, as she sat down as well. "This  
'someone' she's meeting... it wouldn't happen to be Hild, would  
it?"

Skuld inhaled sharply. "It might."

Ranma stared intently at Skuld. "I also heard that Hild was Urd's  
mother."

Skuld thought for a few seconds about how to field this one. It  
appeared that both Chiyeko and Ranma were oblivious to Hild's  
true nature. How would she break this to them? Not being able to  
lie was such a handicap. She finally decided to just spit it out and let  
Hild deal with it. "She is."

Ranma wilted visibly and held back a few tears. "How old is Urd?"  
Ranma choked out.

Skuld and Sifu were confused at Ranma's reaction, but Chiyeko  
was a bit angry now at Hild, as she understood what was eating  
Ranma up.

"That would be difficult to explain," Skuld said, wondering how to  
answer THAT question. Urd only looked in her mid-twenties; she -  
like Skuld and Belldandy - were a lot older than that. Perhaps she  
should set it to how old they were since their last rebirth?

"How could that be difficult to explain?" Ranma snapped angrily.

"You would be surprised," Sifu answered coolly.

"Urd would be about forty," Skuld said. Forty years since her last  
rebirth, in any case. The Norns had been around a lot longer than  
that; the Vikings had revered the trio governing Past, Present, and  
Future over a thousand years ago and more.

Ranma's anger cooled somewhat as it was replaced by curiousity.  
"Forty? But... Hild looks the same age I am." She decided to go  
with her previous idea. "Skuld, did Hild ever regress in age, maybe  
from some age-reducing mushrooms or something?"

Skuld winced. Another badly worded question... "Yes, but  
mushrooms had nothing to do with it." Sifu looked at Skuld in  
surprise. "I've seen Hild as a small child, as well as an adult. You'd  
have to ask Hild about that yourself," Skuld said.

"Oh, believe me, I will," Ranma promised.

"How come I never heard about this?" Sifu complained. Skuld  
briefly flicked her eyes from Sifu to Ranma and back by way of  
warning: Not when mortals are around. "Nevermind," Sifu said  
quickly.

Skuld drummed her fingers along the table for a few seconds before  
coming to a decision. "Sifu, why don't you show Chiyeko the new  
turbocharger you put on your motorcycle."

"What?" Sifu said at the sudden shift in topic. "Chiyeko wouldn't  
care about that."

Skuld sighed, seeing that Sifu wasn't going to get the hint. She  
stuffed a wad of yen in Sifu's hand instead. "Here, have some  
money. Buy ice cream, go shopping, whatever. I'd like to talk to  
Saotome-san in private."

Chiyeko sighed and got up as well and trudged out the door. Once  
the younger generation was safely out of the room, Skuld turned to  
Ranma. "There are some things you probably don't want discussed  
in front of Sifu, Ranma. I know about your curse."

Ranma stiffened. "How... how could you possibly know?" she  
asked, startled. She looked at Skuld suspiciously. "Even Chiyeko  
didn't know until I told her."

"I know a lot about you, more than you think," Skuld said.

"I believe that," Ranma said. "That doesn't answer how."

Skuld smiled as a way of not technically lying presented itself to  
her. "Maybe Nabiki told me."

"Figures," Ranma said, sighing. She then looked intently at Skuld  
again. "That doesn't answer my questions about Urd, though. How  
did Hild get young, or whatever? Why didn't she tell me about  
Urd?"

"Maybe she thought you wouldn't believe Urd was her daughter,"  
Skuld said without thinking.

"What, regressing in age? Been there, done that. Besides, I used to  
be a guy. I'd believe it."

"Ranma, you shouldn't take this personally. Urd's older than you  
are." A lot older, but let's not go there, Skuld thought.

"There are other questions I want to ask, too. Like, what are those  
tattoos you all have? And Chiyeko has them too..." Ranma asked.

"They're magic. Beyond that, I really can't tell you. You have to  
ask Hild." Skuld said.

"I intend to."

"She actually has good reasons not to tell you these things,  
Ranma," Skuld said gently. For the first time in her life, she felt  
sympathy for Hild. After all, Skuld had been forced to hide what  
she was from Sentaro, after all.

"I couldn't possibly imagine what they might be," Ranma said,  
looking very pissed.

"You will understand when she tells you," Skuld said. "To get off  
the subject a bit... there's something I'd like to ask you." Ranma  
looked at her curiously. "How did you meet Hild?"

Ranma scratched the back of her head. "Well, heh heh. That's kind  
of a stupid story..."

"I've heard plenty of stupid stories, so don't worry," Skuld said,  
smiling. Damn, she was getting good at this. Belldandy would be  
proud.

Ranma sighed. "You know that I'm cursed, right? Well, I met Hild  
in China..."

-------------------------------------

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

-------------------------------------

Author's Note: Cliffhanger! Short chapter, too, but after so long  
without either the time or inclination to write, it feels good even  
chugging this much out.

(1) Or whatever the Japanese equivalent is. Note: I don't actually  
care what the Japanese equivalent is, either.  



	11. Chapter 11

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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"You will understand when she tells you," Skuld said. "To get off the subject a bit... there's something I'd like to ask you." Ranma looked at her curiously. "How did you meet Hild?"

Ranma scratched the back of her head. "Well, heh heh. That's kind of a stupid story..."

"I've heard plenty of stupid stories, so don't worry," Skuld said, smiling. Damn, she was getting good at this. Belldandy would be proud.

Ranma sighed. "You know that I'm cursed, right? Well, I met Hild in China..."

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Tired and feeling more stressed out if he had been in a roomful of cats for a week, an exhausted Ranma Saotome collapsed on the floor of a dojo where he and his father had trained earlier that day.

Hopefully the rains would be kind to them; when they were lucky, girl-type Ranma didn't put in an appearance for a while, and that Shampoo girl was thrown off their tracks for a while. Then they could actually get a little training done on the return leg of their training trip.

But for now the training was done. The huge bulk of his father slowly rose, thinking that Ranma was asleep, and crept out the door, no doubt going to the nearest bar in order to waste their meager funds. Ranma himself sat up and shook his head disgustedly. His father's stupidity had gotten him cursed, and his father's greediness had some psycho after his head. He conveniently forgot his own part in the Amazon fiasco.

Unwilling to be the obedient son and sleep, Ranma stood up, stretched, and walked through the city they were in. Usually, they had stuck to the countryside, but ever since Shampoo had started following them they had tried to get lost in the teeming crowds of the Chinese cities. He wandered around aimlessly, taking in the sights, not really having any particular goal or purpose, before noticing an arcade.

Ranma stared through the window as passerby bumped into him and cursed at the crazy Japanese kid standing in the way. He looked in his pockets and pulled out a few coins; enough to play a few games. So he walked in and sat down in front of one of the fighting games defiantly. His father had forbade him from playing such games, on the theory that they lacked realism and would hurt him in a fight. Generally, Ranma agreed: the little animated fighters were too limited in their moves, too rigid in their back-and-forth movement for him to find it anything other than hilariously bad.

But tonight, Ranma didn't care what Genma said. He was going to play those games, precisely because Genma didn't want him to.

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"Wait, wait," Skuld said, seeing where this was going. "You met Hild... in an arcade?"

"I told you this was dumb," Ranma said.

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So Ranma blitzed through the fighting game without a problem. His reflexes were too quick for the game; even the occasional human player who started a game on the other side of the machine was quickly dispatched. He was almost finished with the game when the familiar "A new challenger appears!" dialogue came up.

He frowned. None of the other challengers had been any good, and, to be honest, he was ready to give the whole thing up as being useless and silly, just as his father had said. He got ready to pound the other player mercilessly.

Ranma lost.

He quickly put his other coins in the machine and challenged the other player back. This time he was taking the other player seriously. This time he wouldn't goof around. This time, he lasted a whole five minutes in a long battle. But he still lost. "Feh. It's a stupid game anyways."

"You only say that because you lost," the other player said back, in unaccented Japanese. The girl belonging to the voice walked around the far side of the machine. "You look a little angry because you lost, too. You shouldn't be upset." A beat. "After all, I'm the best there is."

Ranma puffed himself up. "I'm the best there is at real martial arts," he declared. No way that he'd let some oddball blonde in an arcade think he was a wimp.

"How prideful," she replied, and tossed him a few coins. "Another match. It would be a shame for you to finish so quickly, after all. Then maybe you could show me a little martial arts?" She smiled. It was a hypnotic smile, a serpent's smile, and Ranma was paralyzed by it.

"That sounds like fun," he said, once the spell was broken. "I'll show you a few simple things, you know, for self-defense." Then he put the coins in the machine and proceeded to get thrashed again.

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"Afterwards I showed her a few moves. Nothing special. And we talked some. I had a lot of pent up anger at the time and was convinced the gods were dumping on me. I was angry at my father, the Amazons, Jusenkyo, pretty much everything.Hild was really the first sympathetic person who was willing to listen to me," Ranma said, staring at the table.

I bet, Skuld thought. Anger, feelings of betrayal, mindless violence - all would be things the queen of demons would find interesting. Along with Ranma himself, of course; Skuld had seen pictures of the younger male Ranma in her Yggdrasil files. Hild wasn't averse to the idea of flirting with mortals. It was how things went from there to Chiyeko being born that puzzled her. "Ranma, forgive me if I'm really blunt, but how did you end up sleeping with Hild?"

Ranma bristled. "I don't see how it's any of your business."

"She's my sister's mother," Skuld says, "and it's really out of character for her... I think."

Ranma shrugged. "I dunno. It wasn't until the night before I left town that it happened. She asked me what I would wish for, if I could wish for anything at all."

"You wished for a roll in the hay with Hild?" Skuld asked. That didn't sound like something Ranma would wish for, and Hild would have made his life a living hell.

"No!" Ranma said, panicky, and waved her hands in front of her like she was warding Skuld off. "I'd never wish for something like that!" she said defensively.

"Well, then, what did you wish for?" Skuld asked reasonably.

Ranma didn't see what the big deal about the wish was, but decided to humor the other woman. "Ahh, I just told her I'd rather she got her wish, because she was the first person who'd been nice to me in China. Even if she did have some fun with my curse from time to time."

"So what did Hild wish for, then?" Skuld asked, annoyed.

"I dunno, she never told me," Ranma answered. She then frowned. "Why are you smacking your head against the table?"

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After being evicted from her apartment, and told to go kill time with her rival, Sifu Morisato wasn't exactly in the most talkative, approachable mood. Chiyeko and she had spent the past ten minutes sitting around outside, completely bored. "Er, Sifu?" she ventured.

The short goddess didn't look at her, and instead elected to continue staring at the ground from her perch on the wall outside the apartments. "Yes?" she said, sounding bored.

"Your parents are normal. I'm jealous."

"What brought that on?" Sifu said. 'If you only knew,' she thought, realizing that her rival had no clue that she was in the same boat - one mortal parent, one immortal.

Chiyeko looked up at Sifu's window briefly, then returned to staring at passing cars. "Nothin'."

Sifu smiled and jumped down from her perch. Normally she wouldn't give a demon the time of day, but Chiyeko seemed completely ignorant of that, so she decided to treat her like a mortal. "Come on, Chiyeko, if it's about your mother-"

"It's not, it's about my father," Chiyeko said, frowning.

"Your father?" Sifu said. 'That must be the demon,' she thought. It'd be perfectly normal for a demon to be completely abnormal, after all. "What about your father?"

"Er... I don't want to talk about it?" Chiyeko said hopefully, not wanting to broach the subject that the person she thought was her mother for her entire life was, in fact, her father. "You'll make fun of me."

Sifu raised her hand. "I promise not to make fun of you about your father," she said solemnly. Strangely enough, Chiyeko somehow knew she could trust Sifu on that.

"Um... have you ever heard of a place called Jusenkyo?" Chiyeko said uncertainly. If Sifu didn't know - and the odds of that were near 100 - then she wouldn't continue. It was too damn weird to explain.

"The cursed springs of sorrow," Sifu said, reciting mostly from memory. She had learned all about them during her training, along with other magial places and artifacts on Midgard. Some were strong enough to cause even goddesses such as herself - or demonesses such as Chiyeko - trouble. "Anything that falls in one is cursed to become whatever drowned there."

Chiyeko blinked and was speechless for a good thirty seconds. "You know about Jusenkyo? How?" she asked, incredulously.

"I, uh, looked it up on the computer." In heaven, but Chiyeko doesn't need to know that. Yet.

Chiyeko shook her head. "My father fell in the Spring of Drowned Girl," she said. Then she looked up at Sifu's room again. "Then after I was born, some jerks locked him in that form."

Sifu opened her mouth to say something, then realized what that meant, and worked her mouth in silence while trying to figure out what to say. Finally, she just gave up and put her hand on Chiyeko's shoulder. "I thought you were exaggerating about having a messed up family. I apologize for doubting you."

"Thanks, I think," Chiyeko said sourly.

The two returned to sitting in boredom for several more minutes before Chiyeko spoke up again. "Apart from pestering me and working on your motorcycle, is there anything you like to do? I'm bored."

Sifu grumbled a bit. "I do have a life, you know..." She then looked at the wad of cash Skuld had given her. "I suppose we could go shopping or something. C'mon, let's get my bike."

The blonde looked at Sifu dubiously. "You want me to ride that thing?" she asked warily, as if the motorbike was a rabid animal.

Sifu shifted her eyes over to Chiyeko. "What, are you scared?"

"Hell yeah I'm scared!" Chiyeko shot back.

Sifu stopped, surprised. "I wasn't expecting you to say that." She had figured Chiyeko was so aggressive and, well, almost macho in her attitude that she'd never admit to being scared. Which, considering that her feminine role model was her father...

Sifu snickered.

"Oh, now you're laughing at me!" Chiyeko said, angrily pointing at the shorter girl. Anybody would be scared by riding your motorcycle - especially when you were driving it!"

"Hey!" Sifu yelled. "If you don't crash once in a while, you obviously weren't riding with all your heart!" She puffed out her chest. "That's what my father and grandfather taught me."

"Your insurance agent must love you," Chiyeko deadpanned.

"I've only been cancelled... twice." Sifu hung her head. "OK, we'll walk, since you're so chicken."

"I'm not chicken," Chiyeko said, "I just got a sense of self-preservation." Still arguing, the two walked their way over to the mall.

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They got to the mall without further incident, and had started off by eating a very light lunch. "My mother - I mean my father - grr..." Chiyeko said, then composed herself. "My father will stuff more food on my plate. It's like she... he... whatever, wants me to be fat."

"You don't look fat," Sifu said. Actually, Chiyeko was the most athletic girl Sifu had ever seen; she couldn't even imagine and overweight Chiyeko. "Besides, you run or walk everywhere. You need more food than that," she said. Then she checked that thought; as a demoness, Chiyeko probably was getting more of her energy from something else. The food was irrelevant, as well as concerns about her weight. "Personally, Chiyeko, I don't feel you need to be concerned about your weight."

"Oh? What makes you so certain?" Chiyeko said, finishing off her salad.

"You could say that it's... intuition bordering on the divine," Sifu said, with an enigmatic smile.

"Sure, whatever," Chiyeko said. The two continued through the mall, uncertain what they wanted to spend their limited amount of money on. They didn't really get a chance, as someone grabbed Chiyeko in a bone-crushing hug from behind.

"Chiyeko-chaaaan!" Hild said happily, having successfully snuck up on her daughter. "Who's your little friend?" She pushed the shorter girl away. Before Chiyeko could even answer, Hild figured it out. "You've got eyes like her. You must be Belldandy's daughter, right?"

Sifu blinked and stepped away from the Daimakochou. "That's right..."

"Hey kid," Urd said to Sifu. "What are you doing here?"

"Auntie Urd!" she said, and took a step closer to her aunt. "I was just going to the mall with Saotome-chan here..."

Chiyeko looked up at her mother with her fists clenched and shaking with anger. "Why didn't you tell me?" Chiyeko said angrily, attracting the attention of many people in the mall. She shot Hild an accusing glare.

"I never told you?" Hild said, feigning innocence, then looked around at the people looking at the scene they were creating. "Hey! Scram! This is family business!" Chastised, the mallrats continued on their ways. "Chiyeko... it would have been very difficult to explain..." she shot an angry glance at Sifu, whom she thought had blown the secret, "that you aren't human."

Chiyeko's eyes opened wide and her mouth opened and closed several times, before she couldn't take it any more and fainted.

Hild caught her before she hit the ground. "Chiyeko? Chiyeko!" She turned to Sifu and Urd. "Why'd she faint?"

Sifu sweated nervously. "Actually, she had just found out that the person she thought was her mother, was her father... she didn't know she was a demon."

"Oh," Hild said, then smiled nervously. "Well, she had to find out sometime, didn't she? Urd, dear, be a good child and help me drag her over to the food court."

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DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: Another short chapter, again, I'm just trying to keep things moving! I'm not particularly happy with the quality of it, either, but hell, I've got no time right now...


	12. Chapter 12

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
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Chiyeko Saotome was in a deep fog, a place distant from sex-  
changed fathers, secret-pervert fiances, and boring, uninteresting  
schools headed by chi vampires. It was a comfortable place, a place  
where she was, if not a normal girl, at least a girl, and not...  
whatever the hell she was.

It was a very comfortable place for her, which is why she was so  
resistant to being woken up from it.

"Chiyeko!" Hild said anxiously, slapping the girl lightly. "Wake  
up!"

"So this girl is my sister? I mean half-sister, like my other sisters?"  
Urd asked, having been clued in by Sifu on the true state of things  
while they dragged the unconscious girl over to a table in the food  
court.

"Yes, Urd-chan, she's your sister," Hild said, and glared at Urd.  
"And she's been much friendlier to me, even when she didn't  
know I was her mother. What's your excuse?"

Urd scratched her ear. "I think it has something to do with you  
stealing the All-Father's intellectual property and setting up a  
competing organization well back before the beginning of time.  
You know, the whole heaven and hell thing."

"Don't bring your father into this," Hild said, slightly annoyed.

Sifu looked at her friend/rival. "I think she's just had a few too  
many shocks to the system lately, Hild-san."

The Daimakaicho nodded. "I see. So Ranma told her, finally. I was  
wondering when he was going to do that." She clapped her hands.  
"It's so nice to have someone call me mother, finally." Hild glared  
daggers again at Urd, who returned the look this time.

'It's scary how similar they are,' Sifu thought. It was strangely  
reassuring to her that a heavenly goddess was more similar to  
Nifelheim's head demon than another demon was. It meant her  
assignment of keeping an eye on Chiyeko's doings would probably  
be fairly uneventful. She shook Chiyeko some. "Hey, wake up."

"I've studied it already," Chiyeko protested weakly, before opening  
her eyes. "Hey, this isn't a class..." Remembering what had  
happened, she then joined Urd in glaring at their mother.

Hild's glance immediately faltered under this newest glare. "What?"

"I can understand my, er, father hiding something from me. It  
would be kinda hard to explain to a little kid, though I don't know  
why she didn't tell me earlier." She hardened her glare at Hild a bit.  
"You were hiding what I am from me!"

"Do you even know what you are?" Hild asked, quirking an  
eyebrow.

"No! And that's the point!" Chiyeko snapped. She took the ribbon  
that she kept wrapped around her head off, displaying the red  
trapezoid on her forehead that she usually kept hidden. "What the  
hell is this, and what does it mean?"

Hild looked coolly at Chiyeko for a few moments. "Chiyeko, my  
daughter, it means that you are..." She breathed deeply, not  
knowing how this would be taken, "a demoness."

Chiyeko's breath stopped. Then, very deliberately, so she didn't  
scream it out loud and alert the whole mall: "I'm a what?"

"A demoness, just like me," Hild said calmly.

"Uh huh," Chiyeko said, drumming her fingers on the table. "Right.  
Like I'm supposed to believe that." She pointed to Urd and Sifu.  
"And I suppose they're some other bunch of demons, then?"

"Actually, we're goddesses," Sifu said quietly.

"I'm half-demoness myself, just to be accurate," Urd added. "But  
I'm licensed with heaven."

"So, like, I'm from hell?" Chiyeko asked. She looked rather  
unconvinced.

"No, Nifelheim, actually," Hild said.

"And I'm supposed to believe this, how?" Chiyeko asked.

"Urd-chan," Hild said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Could you just  
wait here a minute? I need to bring Chiyeko to the little girls'  
room."

Urd gave her a fishy look. "You're going to alert every two bit  
demon hunter in Tokyo, you know." Hild shrugged and got up.

"Follow me," she told Chiyeko, who got up and followed her with a  
mulish expression on her face.

"What's going on?" Sifu asked. "How's she going to prove that to  
Chiyeko?"

Urd slouched forward onto the table, leaning her face against one  
palm and drawing circles on the tabletop with one fingernail. "She's  
going to open up a gate to Nifelheim and give her a tour, of  
course."

Sifu's eyes widened. "That's insane! A gate to Nifelheim, here?  
That would take... well, I guess she is the Daimakaicho..."

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The very subdued girl who returned with Hild didn't resemble the  
angry and confused one who left with her. The fight had gone out  
of Chiyeko, it seemed. "I guess I should believe her," Chiyeko  
mumbled as the demonic duo returned to the table. "Does this mean  
we have to fight each other now or something? I mean, like we  
used to?"

"No, no," Hild said, waving her hands. "Only if we have another  
war. And that's unlikely because of the doublet system?"

"The doublet system?" Chiyeko said, lost again.

"It's a system Father and Hild came up with to prevent another war  
between the gods and the demons. Every god or goddess," Urd  
indicated Sifu and herself, "is matched up with a particular demon  
or demoness." She pointed to Hild and Chiyeko. "If one is killed,  
the other dies too."

Chiyeko's eyes bugged out. "You mean if some person who I don't  
even know dies, I die too? That really sucks!"

"The whole idea is that you don't know," Hild said, continuing the  
lesson. "That way, there's no temptation to kill anyone on the other  
side. And besides, it only applies if your opposite number is killed  
by another god or demon."

"Oh," Chiyeko said, still somewhat confused, but unwilling to show  
it.

"Now that you know the truth, I can teach you how to use your  
powers. Better than your father did, though I'm impressed that  
Ranma was able to adapt his chi techniques to your pishogue," Hild  
said.

"My what?" Chiyeko said, irritated at all the new things about  
herself she was learning lately.

"Mortals have chi, gods have mana, demons have pishogue," Sifu  
said. "They're pretty similar but there's some differences. Chi can't  
be used to perform magic, for instance, but you and I could."

"Magic?" Chiyeko said. "Like turning-my-father-into-a-girl magic?"

"Correct," Hild said, "although the magic used on Ranma was of a  
divine pattern, so I can't do anything about it."

Completely lost, Chiyeko just shook her head and then laid it down  
on the table.. "Whatever. I don't even want to think about this  
stuff. I don't want anything weird or unusual said around me today.  
I"ve maxed out my weirdness for the day." She looked up and  
smiled. "So, I hear you're my sister. Got any fashion tips? Sifu and  
I have some money to burn."

"Sure thing, kid," Urd said, ruffling Chiyeko's hair.

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The money Skuld gave them didn't last too long, not with Urd and  
Hild helping the two pick out clothes, although the outfits the two  
had chosen were the tamest of the ones the older goddess and  
demoness had selected. They had rather... daring tastes. Too daring  
for Sifu, and Chiyeko only picked one of them up because she felt  
like causing her father some grief tonight.

Hild had paid for an exact matching set in Ranma's size, and had  
made suggestions to her daughter on how to trap Ranma into  
wearing it. The two had enjoyed a brief evil chuckle before  
rejoining the other two.

"It was nice meeting you, and thanks for your help," Chiyeko said  
as Urd and Skuld left to go to Sifu's apartment.

"Think nothing of it, kid," Urd said. "That magic on your father  
was divine in origin, right?" Hild nodded. "You should send him by  
Nekomi sometime; perhaps Bell and I can figure it out."

Sifu just waved and walked off, a smile on her face.

"Well, that was interesting," Chiyeko said after they were gone. "I  
suppose I'll go back to the Tendo dojo." She looked at Hild  
curiously. "But where are you staying, Mom?"

She was immediately enveloped in another bone-crushing hug.  
"You called me mother!" she said happily as her daughter dropped  
her bags of clothes and struggled to escape.

After a few seconds Chiyeko managed to get loose and gasped for  
breath. "What's the big deal?" Chiyeko said angrily.

"Urd never called me 'mother' or 'mom'," Hild said sadly.

"What!" Chiyeko said. "Sister or not, I'm gonna clobber her!" She  
balled up her fists in anger.

Hild patted her on the shoulder. "Now, now - Urd has her reasons  
for doing that. I don't think they're right, now, but..."

"That doesn't change what's right!" Chiyeko said, crossing her  
arms. She then remembered she had dropped her bags and picked  
them up.

They walked alongside in silence for a while. "Anyways, in  
response to your earlier question, I'll probably be staying at the  
Tendo Dojo tonight, along with your father. I haven't seen Ranma  
in a while," Hild said, as they approached the dojo.

"Oh, OK," Chiyeko said, not really thinking about it. Her earlier  
good mood from shopping having worn off and her underlying  
stress and confusion coming to the surface. She said the usual  
introductions to Kasumi robotically when the door opened.

"Oh, hello Hild," Kasumi said, noticing the other visitor, who  
waved.

"It's been a long time, Kasumi," Hild said cheerfully, then got a  
devious glint after Chiyeko shuffled off to the house. "Is Nabiki still  
in town?" Trying to corrupt Kasumi was something of a hobby for  
her, and the middle Tendo sister was an excellent unintentional  
partner in crime when making those attempts.

"Ah, perhaps it would be better if we didn't call her," Kasumi said.  
She remembered the last time Hild had visited, and she had  
accompanied Hild, Nabiki, and some blonde associate of Hild's.  
Her hazy memories of banging on a temple bell in her underwear  
and the very vidid memory of a five-alarm hangover the next day  
were in the forefront of her mind.

Hild smirked knowingly. "Well, perhaps we can get Ranma to come  
instead," she said, sounding thoughftul.

Kasumi's eyes glinted in amusement. "That seems like a good  
idea," she said, feeling devious. Ranma had an even worse alcohol  
tolerance than she did, so the evening would probably be cut short.  
At the very least, Ranma would be the one doing embarassing  
things. As an added precaution... "Actually, I have a few bottles of  
good sake here. We could just stay here."

Hild shrugged. "I suppose," she said, not caring where she got  
Kasumi to get drunk and do silly things. As a bonus, she might get  
Ranma to do silly things as well. She might have a soft spot for  
Ranma - he had such a delightfully storng mixture of pride,  
confidence, and repressed anger, and was loyal and looked good to  
boot - but that didn't preclude her from having a little mischief with  
the cursed martial artist from time to time. Besides, a little alcohol  
might help Ranma accept the news that neither she nor Chiyeko  
were human. "Ranma is about your size, right?"

Kasumi nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing," Hild said, smiling widely.

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Chiyeko walked right into the Tendo home, and ran into Ranma,  
who was coming out of the kitchen looking rather energized. "Hey,  
you're back," Ranma said, smiling. "I got back from your friend's  
place a while ago, where were you? Shopping?" Ranma asked,  
seeing the bags. She grinned, having gotten to skip out on that.

"Hi... dad..." Chiyeko said, still having to remember to call Ranma  
'father' and not 'mother'.

"You want to spar? I've got Atasuke doing some training in the  
dojo right now, he won't be done for at least half an hour."

"No thanks," Chiyeko mumbled, and shouldered aside Ranma on  
her way up the stairs. "I don't feel like it."

Ranma watched her daughter walk leadenly up the stairs and  
sighed. "I suppose she's had a lot to think about lately," Ranma  
said quietly, and then headed back out to the dojo.

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Atasuke Ono was currently very sore, very tired, and had his arms  
covered in small burns. He was also very happy: after a lot of very  
painful practice, he had mastered the Amaguriken, and he felt that  
it, combined with the pressure points his father had taught him,  
meant that he was finally a match for his old sensei, his aunt Akane.

"Feeling good about yourself?" Ranma asked, smiling. She had lost  
a lot due to the Amazons - the satisfaction of teaching students  
being one of them. She'd only had the chance to teach a very small  
number of people the martial arts - mostly Chiyeko, though she had  
taught Nabiki some self-defense courses when the middle Tendo  
daughter was in college, and some friends of Hild's who had  
wanted a few pointers. Still, there wasn't anything quite like the  
feeling when a student mastered a difficult technique.

Atasuke nodded. "I've got some ideas for how to make this better,"  
he said.

"Oh, really?" Ranma said, smirking. She'd thought up several  
improvements and modified versions of most of her techniques; it  
was something of a specialty of hers. Even Chiyeko hadn't seen the  
majority of her techniques... then again, she was saving them for the  
Amazons. "You'll have to show me some time."

"I will do that," he said, then adjusted his eyeglasses. "I heard you  
are going to China."

"That's right," Ranma said.

"I'm going with you," he said with determination. "I've learned a  
lot from you, and Chiyeko is going-"

"No," Ranma said, firmly. "You might have managed to learn the  
Amaguriken, and you've come a long way in a short time in terms  
of skill. But your stamina stinks. Chiyeko told me about your little  
roofhopping trip with her to the video store, and you were winded  
by it."

He balled his fists at his side. "I'll get better in time. It'll take at  
least two weeks to get there, and you aren't even leaving for almost  
a week."

"No, and that's final," Ranma said sternly, then softened.  
"Honestly, I believe you, and - please don't tell Akane this - I think  
you'd be better than she is when we arrived. This isn't my decision,  
and it's not your decision to make. Your mother and father made it  
for you. No going to China for you."

Atasuke grumbled and looked away.

"I have a favor to ask of you, actually," Ranma said. "Chiyeko  
seems very depressed, and I don't think my talking to her would be  
much of a help right now." Atasuke looked back at Ranma. "Go to  
her and cheer her up. She's your fiancee." She slapped him on the  
shoulder.

"I guess I can do that," he said, and trotted off with a smile, as  
Ranma started cleaning up the dojo.

A few minutes later, Hild was at the door, waving a bottle of sake.  
"Oh loverboy!" Hils sang out. "We called over Nabiki, come on  
inside."

Ranma blushed. "No thanks, alcohol and I don't mix."

"I have several memories that suggest otherwise," Hild said,  
smirking. "You had better come, to make sure I don't share them."

"Blackmailer!" Ranma cried, shaking a fist in pretended anger as  
she headed towards Hild. "Spreading lies and trouble!"

"Stop that, you're making me blush," Hild said with a smile. She  
grabbed Ranma as she walked by, and spun her around and pinned  
her against the doorframe.

"What?" Ranma asked, just before Hild kissed her, and her eyes  
widened until they were the size of dinner plates. She then looked  
around when Hild backed off. "What if someone saw us?"

"So what? You know you liked it," Hild said with a wink. She  
waved the bottle again. "Didn't even need any sake this time for  
you to return it."

"I'll be a man again soon enough, Hild," Ranma said, seriously,  
then blushed as she realized what she was basically telling Hild.

"Is that a promise?" Hild said, smirking.

Ranma just scratched the back of her head and looked sheepish. "I  
ain't saying nothing," she said roughly. "C'mon, I want to talk to  
Nabiki too."

Hild smirked again, where Ranma couldn't see. Both Kasumi and  
Ranma. This would be a fun night.

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Atasuke stopped in front of the guest room and crouched down,  
making sure that his mother wasn't around to mistake his action for  
peeping, and listened. If Chiyeko was crying, he really didn't know  
what he'd do, but there was only silence, so...

He smoothly and quietly opened the sliding door, as if on a panty  
raid. Only the glint of light from his glasses ruined the pure  
stealthiness of his entry; that and the fact that he had just crept into  
a well-lit room. He closed the door just as silently, walked silently  
over to Chiyeko's side. She was balled up on the futon and holding  
the blanket over her head.

He took his eyeglasses off and wiped them briefly, before putting  
them back on. Yes, completely undetected. He prided himself on  
that for a moment, then thought about what to do for a few  
seconds.

Chiyeko was upset. About what, he didn't know, but it was  
probably something silly. He should probably just distract her from  
her troubles. He smiled. He had just the thing.

Still moving silently, he crept over to the guest room dresser and  
pulled out one of Chiyeko's bras. While he had promised Ranma  
not to pilfer any more underwear, he rationalized that this wasn't  
stealing, nor even 'borrowing', as he didn't plan to take it out of  
the room. Closing the drawer, he then walked over, not bothering  
to be stealthy, and sat down near her head.

"You have good taste," Atasuke said loudly. "Much better than  
your mother, at any rate. You'd swear she was a man, or  
something," he continued, remembering how Chiyeko liked to  
insult Ranma's unfeminine nature.

"She's not my mother, and she is a man," Chiyeko said, her voice  
muffled from being under the blanket. She sat up, her face all tear-  
streaked. "And give me back that bra, you pervert," she said  
angrily, snatching the piece of underwear away from him.

Atasuke scratched his head. "Ranma isn't your mother?" Atasuke  
said, confused. It took Chiyeko a few minutes to remember that he  
hadn't been there for the whole 'Ranma is my father' revelation.

"No, it's kind of complicated... Ranma is my father, and Hild is my  
mother, and the Amazons did something to keep her.. him... stuck  
as a girl."

"Oh," Atasuke said, sweating. This was a bit more than he was  
prepared for. "That's very... um..."

"Weird," Chiyeko said, then got angrier. "It's always weird!  
There's always some sort of strange thing going on in my life!" She  
broke down in tears and hid herself under the blanket again. "I just  
want to be a normal girl, for just a little while, and I can't even have  
that."

Atasuke sat there in silence for a while, not certain what to do or  
say, listening to Chiyeko sob. He was feeling a little angry himself,  
but for a different reason. Earlier, he had been all excited and ready  
to go to China, to participate in one of the big martial arts  
adventures his parents and aunts had told him about. He had  
wanted to do something exciting and weird his whole life, and he  
was being denied that, just like Chiyeko was being denied a chance  
to be normal and boring for once.

He made two quick decisions. First, he was going to China whether  
his parents allowed it or not.

Two, he needed some money. "I'll be back in a minute," Atasuke  
promised.

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He returned downstairs to find that the sake was flowing freely  
among the adults. Nabiki would certainly advance him the money,  
but he didn't feel like being up to his eyeglasses in debt, so he tried  
his parents first. "Mother," he said, knowing exactly who had the  
power of the purse in the house, "can I have some money?"

"What for?" Kasumi asked, feeling slightly buzzed already.

"I just want to take Chiyeko out tonight," he said honestly. He  
figured that a normal, boring, hopefully not-interrupted-by-insane-  
martial-artists date would probably cheer Chiyeko up.

"Now, Atasuke, your father and I expect you to stay within your  
allowance-" she started, but was cut off by Nabiki.

"Five percent interest," Nabiki said, "as much money as you need."  
She smirked.

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said, angrily.

"Perhaps we ought to give him some money," Tofu said. "After all,  
Chiyeko has been having a stressful last few days." Kasumi seemed  
to think it over.

"I'd be very grateful," Atasuke said, bowing deeply.

His mother frowned. "I don't know..."

He was rescued from an unexpected source, as Hild pushed a wad  
of yen on him. "Go ahead, have fun. I got her a nice new outfit  
tonight, see if you can get her to wear it. Just don't do anything...  
naughty," Hild said, winking. "I'll know." She had set up the  
Nifelheim computer to automatically alert her anytime someone did  
anything 'bad' to Chiyeko, after all. Such persons would get special  
attention when they die... assuming that they didn't go to heaven.

"Thank you," he said, bowing again, before leaving.

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DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: Again short, but moving along nicely, no?  



	13. Chapter 13

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
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"So where are we going on this date?" Chiyeko said, still slightly  
puffy-faced from crying.

"Just over to the Ucchan's," Atasuke said. "I don't think either of  
us are really in the mood for anything fancy today."

"You mean that I'm not in the mood for anything fancy today,"  
Chiyeko sniffed. "In which case you're right. Okonomiyaki it is."  
She looked at Atasuke slyly. "I had thought I drained your  
allowance dry, pervert."

Atasuke winced. "Well, our parents - feels weird to include Hild in  
that - decided to be nice and give us a break."

"They just don't want us to see them get drunk," she grumbled,  
kicking a soda can left in the gutter. It clattered along the pavement  
for a bit. "My mom, I mean, my dad, gets totally plastered." She  
frowned and stepped loudly on the can, crushing it.

"It must be very strange, this situation," Atasuke said, adjusting his  
glasses unconsciously. "But I got used to Principal Ninomiya, so I  
feel that we can both adjust to the curse your, er, father is under."

"You aren't related to Ninomiya-san," Chiyeko said darkly. "And  
that's not the only weird thing."

"Well, you've never met my grandmother, but I know about being  
related to weird people," Atasuke said, "So-"

"Just be quiet. I'm in my own little personal hell, leave me alone,"  
Chiyeko said, stepping away from her fiancee. Idly she wondered if  
she actually had her own personal hell, or if she had to share one  
with all the other demons. The thought brought a smile to her face.

The meowing of a cat brought another. "A cat," she said warmly.

"I've seen this cat before. Mom sometimes feeds it when she finds it  
behind the house." Atasuke walked up to the stray slowly. "Here,  
kitty."

Meowing softly again, the cat walked hesitantly over to the two  
teenagers before rubbing itself up against Atasuke's leg. Chiyeko  
crouched down and rubbed its fur. "I always wanted a pet cat."

"And you couldn't get one because you were always moving?" he  
said sympathetically.

"No, because when I brought a stray kitten I found back to our  
camp once my mother screamed and ran through a tree. She's  
deathly afraid of cats; won't let me near them."

"She ran through a tree?"

"Yeah, she's deathly afraid of cats. Never told me why, too - she  
just forbade me from ever bringing a cat near her again." Chiyeko  
rubbed the cats chin and giggled when it turned over and started  
batting at her hand. "You're such a cute kitty," she cooed. "Yes  
you are!"

"You know, nowadays they have very good desensitization  
programs. I'm sure my father could put Ranma in touch with  
someone who could help her with her fear of cats."

"Desensitization... don't they have to show the person what they're  
afraid of?"

"Yes, I think so."

"You don't want to even suggest going near a cat to my father,"  
Chiyeko said.

Atasuke thought about how frightening an angry Ranma could be.  
"You're right, I don't." He considered the cat for a few moments.  
"Do we want to bring this cat back and let it find Ranma?"

Chiyeko turned ashen white. "NO. No you do not."

"That bad?"

"Worse."

"Then I suppose I'll forget about it," Atasuke said, and Chiyeko put  
down the cat.

The two walked some time in silence, until the Ucchan's was in  
sight. "You know, my grandmother told me that my father had  
dated Ukyo, back when she was a boy." She shook her head. "That  
sounds SO wrong, I can't even process it. I've learned so much  
about myself lately that I think I'm going to snap and stare at the  
ceiling like a vegetable."

They walked into the Ucchan's, which was only half-full owing to  
the hour. "Hey there!" the proprietor said, seeing Chiyeko and  
Atasuke as they entered. "What can I do for you?"

Chiyeko held up her hands. "I need to wash up," she said, and got  
pointed back to the restroom.

"A pork okonomiyaki," Atasuke said, and sat down at the counter.  
He looked seriously at the two. "Chiyeko-chan learned the truth  
about Ranma."

Both Ukyo and Konatsu froze. "So he finally told her?"

"'He'?" Atasuke asked with a smirk.

"Ranma will always be a 'he' to people who've known him a long  
time, even if the Amazons force him to live out his life as a  
woman," Ukyo said. "But I'm sure it's caused Chiyeko no end of  
confusion."

"It has. I was wondering - do you have pictures of Ranma, back  
before this curse of hers was locked?" he asked. "It might help  
Chiyeko a lot if she sees some photos of her father as a boy.  
Especially if Ranma still looks like Ranma."

"You're right. And I do have some photos from when we went to  
Furinkan; I'll go get them," Uyko said, then turned to Konatsu.  
"Watch the store for me, OK?"

The effeminate ninja bowed and took her place behind the counter.  
Atasuke had always been disturbed by the transvestite; his finely-  
tuned pervert senses told him that this was no woman, yet Konatsu  
was, objectively speaking, one of the top five hottest 'women' in  
Nerima... or had been up until Hild and Ranma moved into the area.  
Possibly lower if Urd was going to be around...

However, he had no time for such pleasant distractions, and  
reached into his pocket for the note he had quickly scribbled, and  
slid across the counter. Konatsu pocketed it without even giving  
any other acknowledgement that he had noticed its existence.

Chiyeko reappeared at that very moment. "Hey, where's Ukyo?"

"She went upstairs, Saotome-san," Konatsu said. "I'll handle your  
order."

"Beef okonomiyaki, then," she replied, and sat down next to  
Atasuke. She watched Konatsu cook her food for a while, and  
found herself wondering who would be more confused; she herself,  
having a boy turned girl being her primary female role model, or  
some hypothetical child of Konatsu's and Ukyo's, the two biggest  
cross-dressers in Nerima.

"Deep thoughts?" Konatsu asked, seeing her distant expression.

"Not really," she replied.

"I found them!" Ukyo said, waving a handful of pictures in the air  
and holding an album under her arm.

"Found what?" Chiyeko asked.

"Photos of your father," Konatsu answered, and flipped their  
okonomiyaki onto plates and shoved them across.

"I've seen photos of my father before," Chiyeko said. "I mean, back  
when he was a man." That statement earned her a few odd looks  
from the other patrons. "My grandmother showed me one or two  
before."

"I have a lot more, though," Ukyo said, and spread them all across  
the table. "Nabiki took lots of - oops," she said, seeing one photo  
that she did not want other people to see, and whipped it off the  
counter.

"What was that photo of, Ukyo-san?" Konatsu asked innocently.

"None of your business," Ukyo said, blushing.

"I'm curious now, let me see," Chiyeko said with a devious smirk.

"Yes, Ukyo, let us see," Konatsu said.

"You really don't want to see this photo. Trust me," Ukyo said.

"I bet it's a dirty photo," Chiyeko said. "Blackmail material."

"Perhaps we should just look at the other photos," Atasuke offered,  
recognizing the signs of typical Nerima chaos brewing. He opened  
up the album at random and saw a black-haired boy beating the hell  
out of someone who looked a lot like a younger Kuno-sensei. He  
pointed to it. "Isn't this Kuno-sensei? This makes better blackmail  
material than Ukyo's photo, I think."

Distracted, Chiyeko looked at it and laughed. "It is that poetry-  
spouting idiot! And that's my father, sure enough. I wonder what  
Kuno did to get him angry."

"Kuno was infatuated with your father's cursed body," Ukyo said,  
causing Chiyeko to laugh even louder.

"But she's just got to be the dorkiest tomboy in the world! I mean,  
Dad is about the least feminine woman in the world..."

"The only other girl Kuno ever expressed interest in was Atasuke's  
aunt, Akane," Ukyo said.

"He chased after Akane?" Atasuke said, flatly amazed. "Keep  
talking, this is getting better and better."

"Nothing could keep Kuno away from those two, except for severe  
blunt trauma." Ukyo shook her head. "I guess I should count my  
blessings that he never developed a crush on me." She then pulled  
out some more photos.

"Who's this?" Chiyeko asked, pointing to a purple haired girl.

"That's Shampoo, and she's the reason your father is stuck as a  
girl," Ukyo said coldly. A certain silence fell over the group. The  
Amazons had hurt them all, in their different ways, when Ranma's  
curse was locked. The two teenagers ate in silence for a while,  
alone to their thoughts for a spell.

"So this is the face of the enemy," Chiyeko said, laying her  
chopsticks down and picking up the photo. Her voice had an edge  
to it Atasuke hadn't heard since she caught him taping her in the  
bathroom.

"You didn't sound this angry about the Amazons before," Atasuke  
said.

"That was before I knew just how messed up my life was, thanks to  
Mom's curse. I mean my father's curse. You see what I mean?" she  
said, waving the photograph. "This person is to blame. She and  
all the other Amazons. If it weren't for them, I'd have had a normal  
life." Even as she said it, she knew that wasn't true, but she didn't  
care. She finally had a target to focus all her confusion and stress  
on. Someone to blame, that wasn't someone she loved. An  
unhealthy green glow started for form around her, and Atasuke  
almost thought he saw the red dots on her cheeks glow.

"Now, now, sugar," Ukyo said, sweating. She started making  
calming motions with her hands. "Let's not blow up my shop now,  
OK? I had enough of that from Ryoga back when he was your  
age."

"And the insurance company almost has the Ucchan's condemned  
for all the 'gas leaks' we had," Konatsu quipped. "The only reason  
they didn't was because this was Nerima, after all.."

Chiyeko carefully suppressed her power, bringing it back down  
slowly. She gave Ukyo back her photo. "I'm sorry, Kuonji-san, I  
seem to have singed it a bit," she said sheepishly. She turned to  
Atasuke. "C'mon, let's go back home."

With a wave to Ukyo and Konatsu, the two left the Ucchan's and  
headed back to the Tendo Dojo.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Back at the Tendo home, the party was in full swing, and the  
primary victims - Ranma and Kasumi - were completely plastered.  
After enough sake, Hild and Nabiki had managed to get Ranma to  
change into a skimpy Chinese dress, which she had bought with  
Chiyeko earlier that day expressly for this purpose. At the moment,  
Ranma and Kasumi were singing karaoke together, off key and with  
words missing as they both broke into giggles, while Nabiki and  
Hild clapped and laughed. (Tofu was a quiet drunk.)

They were being loud enough that none of them heard who was  
banging on the front door, nor did they notice the front door open.  
In fact, Akane could have probably changed into a chicken suit, set  
it on fire, and run around the yard without the five of them noticing.  
However, she didn't do that. Instead, her face turned red as she  
walked over and pulled the plug on the karaoke machine. "I don't  
believe this!" Akane yelled. "I live right up the street and you didn't  
even invite me over! I haven't talked to Nabiki in a month!"

A slightly tipsy Nabiki leaned over and looked at Akane. "There is  
this amazing invention, the telephone-"

"It's no substitute for being with your family," Akane insisted.

Kasumi laughed drunkenly and dropped her microphone, and  
knocked some plates aside on the table in front of Akane. "Stay  
there, dear sister. I think I've got some cake left in the kitchen for  
you," Behind her, Hild pulled the totally smashed Ranma back over  
and tried to sit her down; but instead, Ranma fell into her lap. Still  
giggling, Ranma tried to kiss Hild but missed, then fell back onto  
the floor.

"You know, Akane, we were having a fun time listening to them  
sing before you killed the karaoke machine," Hild said with a flat  
stare.

Akane turned visibly red again, and Hild smirked, before she  
managed to rein in her temper. "All you do is embarrass him and  
get him drunk or in trouble, Hild. I don't understand why Ranma  
chose you," Akane said. "If-"

"Not one more word," Tofu said suddenly, having a notion of what  
Akane was about to say.

The youngest Tendo daughter visibly deflated; she knew she had  
almost let her temper get the best of her. She swallowed, knelt, and  
bowed to Ranma and Hild. "I'm sorry. I've had a stressful day and  
let my anger get away with me."

"Apology accepted," Hild said with an almost disappointed  
expression.

"The little brats had you seeing red again?" Nabiki said smartly.  
Akane taught gym and also the sole drama class at Kolkhoz High  
School, and never stopped complaining about

Akane fumed, at something other than Hild this time. "Those little  
hellions. They're worse than Kunos."

"Nothin' worse than Kunos," Ranma said drunkenly from the floor.

"Kodachi's son is in that class," Akane said neutrally, "and he's the  
least annoying child in it."

Kasumi returned and put some tea and cake in front of Akane  
before sitting down next to Tofu. "There you go, little sister,"  
Kasumi said gently.

"Thank you," Akane said. She sighed deeply, took a sip of tea, and  
then turned to Kasumi. "So, is it all right if I stay here for the night?  
We're all assembling tomorrow for the trip to China anyways, and  
it'll save me a trip,"

"But Akane," Nabiki said, smirking. "I thought you lived just up the  
street!"

"Shut up, Nabiki," Akane said irritably.

"Sure, little sister, you can sleep over tonight. Just fold down the  
couch in the den." Which had been Happousai's room, before he  
died, and had only become the den after an exorcism and  
fumigation.

"Speaking of sleeping," Hild said, with a certain gleam in her eyes,  
"I need to talk to Ranma here before I put her to bed."

The other adults (except for Akane, who gave Hild a dirty look)  
laughed and waved the two to their guest room. "I'll keep Chiyeko  
out of there, don't worry," Nabiki said.

"Perverts, all of you," Akane said under her breath. Louder: "I'll  
keep Atasuke occupied, too." Hild, for her part, dragged a dead-  
weight Ranma up the stairs.

"It's not his room," Kasumi said, still drunk and not making the  
connection. The other three shared a look of understanding, though  
- Atasuke was a pervert, and would try to peek at the likely  
activities in the guest room if he had an inkling of what was going  
on there.

"We're home!" Atasuke and Chiyeko said cheerfully. The two  
walked into the room, Chiyeko looking much cheerier than she had  
been. Atasuke also looked fairly cheery, and had a fading handprint  
on one cheek.

"Aunt Akane! - and Nabiki!" Atasuke said.

"Why do you always mention me last?" Nabiki groused. "I'm going  
to start taking that out of your presents, you know."

"He says your name last because he knows I'll beat him up," Akane  
said. She looked at Chiyeko speculatively. "Hey, Chiyeko, are you  
as bad as Ranma is at cards?"

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Meanwhile, in the guest room, a drunken Ranma was lying like a  
sack of potatos on top of her futon, with Hild sitting down next to  
her. Blearily, Ranma looked up at her and frowned. "I don't like  
being a girl. Let's wait a few weeks... I'll be a man again soon,  
Hild-chan," Ranma said, remarkably clearly for her state of  
drunkenness.

"I didn't bring you up here for that," Hild said smoothly. "I told  
Chiyeko a secret about my side of the family I'd not told either of  
you, and I-"

"Ish about the ki, right?" Ranma said. "And the shrooms..."

Hild sweated. What the hell was Ranma talking about?

"I know you ate the shrooms and had Urd, Hild. I talked to Skuld...  
I'm no dummy," Ranma said, then screwed up her face, thinking  
she had ordered that wrong, but being a bit too toasted to tell.

"What the hell are you going on about, Ranma-chan?" Hild said,  
irritably wondering what was causing Ranma to spout such  
weirdness. Scratch that; she knew what caused that - Skuld. She  
made a mental note to cause Skuld trouble in the near future. That  
still left the question of what, exactly, the youngest Norn had told  
her mortal lover.

"Urd, Urd is your daughter," Ranma said, "your other daughter.  
The older one. She looks older than you and looks lots like  
Chiyeko-chan. Couldn't have had her... you look yoo young,"  
Ranma said, eliciting an unseen smile from Chiyeko. "You must  
have eaten the age-reducing mushrooms. But I don't mind, Hild, I  
still love you anyways," Ranma said, burying her face in Hild's  
stomach with an off-balance hug.

Hild levered Ranma up a bit more and hugged Ranma right back.  
Inwardly, she was a bit nervous, but the second she realized that  
and why, she smashed it back down. 'You're the Daimakochou, the  
leader of all the demons,' she told herself. 'If you lose the love of a  
mortal, it's nothing.' But still, Ranma deserved to know the truth. If  
it weren't for Chiyeko, she'd leave him in the dark in a heartbeat.  
The girl was as much Ranma's daughter as her own, though.  
"Ranma, that's not true. I didn't take any age reducing  
mushrooms," she said, looking Ranma in the eyes.

"Oh yeah?" Ranma slurred, curious, and poured out of Hild's grip a  
bit..

"I'm really that old," Hild said. "You see, I'm not fully human."

Ranma smiled where she was, half buried in Hild's chest. "Mff," she  
said, her voice muffled, then: "You must be an angel, then," Ranma  
said, giggling, obviously not taking it seriously.

The sheer absurdity of being called an angel made Hild laugh out  
loud, joined by Ranma's drunken giggles.

Hild let go of Ranma, who immediately flopped back until her head  
hit her pillow. "Not quite. I am the Daimakochou Hild, leader of  
Nifelheim, home of the demons."

Ranma started giggling again, then slowed to a stop as she saw  
Hild's face. "Seriously?" Ranma asked.

Hild nodded solemnly. "I had to tell Chiyeko of her heritage. I  
didn't think I should keep things from you any longer."

Ranma tensed up. Hild could practically see any number of angry  
statements floating behind Ranma's eyes, and just as obviously, the  
alcohol was defeating attempts to marshall a serious response.  
"Well talk about it in the morning, Ranma-chan," Hild said, and  
kissed Ranma on the head, then laid herself down beside the  
redhead.

Ranma looked at Hild, unasked questions and a hint of fear on her  
face, then turned over, so her back faced Hild.

Hild sniffed as well, and turned over, her back to Ranma's. A tear  
washed down her face, one tear alone: she had hoped it would have  
gone better, even if she feared it would be worse.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

﻿DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo  
Author's Note: IT LIVES!


	14. Chapter 14

﻿FATE  
A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Day broke over the Tendo household like a cinderblock the next  
morning, as a lead-gray sky shrouded Tokyo from the morning sun.  
The dim light was just as well; most of the adults in the house were  
going to have hangovers from hell.

Of course, not everyone was an adult, and Chiyeko was somewhat  
less likely to sleep in than her father was at her age; besides, she  
had fallen asleep on the floor and not on her bed. So she was just  
finishing up her morning exercises when Atasuke joined her. "light  
spar?" he asked.

"Sure," Chiyeko said, doing a few extra stretches. "Whenever  
you're ready."

Steeling himself, because he knew she was better by a fair margin,  
Atasuke prepared himself, not at all taken in by Chiyeko's  
nonchalant attitude and total lack of anything resembling a stance.  
Neither Ranma nor the old master, whom Atasuke still remembered  
from when he was a child, had ever really looked like they were  
ready for a fight until they were well in one. He, sadly, was not that  
good.

Yet.

Feeling ready, he stepped forward and fired off a quick jab.  
Chiyeko swayed aside, flexible as a reed, and allowed it to pass. He  
followed up, three more punches, three more effortless dodges by  
the blonde martial artist. She flowed around his follow up kick, and  
when he jumped in to try to shorten the range even more, she  
grabbed him and twisted, redirecting him off to the side of the koi  
pond.

"...You've improved," Atasuke said. Not fair; not only was she  
better, but she seemed to learn faster, too, even though they trained  
with Ranma just as much.

Chiyeko winked. In truth, she had simply decided to embrace her  
weird chi - pishogue, whatever - instead of trying to focus it  
through the lens of confidence the way her father had always taught  
her and she had always done. Instead, she felt a kinship and a link  
to her mother that had always been there, but that she had never  
noticed; it made her strength flow more naturally, easier. And it was  
translating to a bit more fluidity and grace in her movements.

She twisted again, then back, at each movement parrying one of  
Atasuke's blows. "You too," she said, then began dodging again,  
not letting him even touch her. "You probably would be doing  
better if you had slept in your bed, instead of on the floor with  
Akane's fist in your face."

Atasuke reddened. "That was an accident! I wouldn't grab HER!"  
he protested, and overextended his next punch. Chiyeko grabbed it,  
pulled him forward, then knocked his leg out from under him with a  
low kick and fired a glancing blow off the top of his head with her  
heel on the return stroke. "Ow!" he said, then flipped to his feet.

"Bang! You're out!" Chiyeko said. It was true - if she had meant to  
hit him square, he'd be out cold. "Try again after breakfast?" she  
asked.

"Sure thing," Atasuke said. "Uh... can you cook?"

Chiyeko sweated. "Like what kind of cooking are we talking  
about?" she asked.

"Er, nothing major... just breakfast." Atasuke let out the breath he  
had been subconsciously holding in. His aunts still got upset about  
their cooking. Nabiki, thankfully, only tried in direst emergencies.

Chiyeko put one finger on her lips cutely, which brought an  
involuntary shudder from Atasuke. It was just wrong to see  
Chiyeko look like such a... a... blonde, even though she was one.  
"Well, I can cook breakfast, but it won't be much."

"Will it be... edible?" Atasuke asked, and half-cringed, expecting a  
violent response.

"Well, yeah, just kind of boring. Why? My father's the good cook.  
Come to think of it, I've never seen aunt - I mean mom - cook  
anything before," Chiyeko said thoughfully. Then, after thinking  
about it a bit more, she added, under her breath, "and perhaps  
there's a good reason for that, too."

"What was that?" Atasuke asked.

"Nevermind."

The two teenage martial artists entered the house and looked over  
the remains of the party. Nabiki had staggered home at some point  
late that night, but Akane was still over, and Hild was upstairs with  
Ranma, which brought a blush to Chiyeko's face when she thought  
about it.

Only Kasumi had managed to drag herself out of bed among the  
adults. "Auntie Kasumi!" Chiyeko exclaimed upon seeing her. She  
didn't look like she normally did; even at the earliest hours of the  
morning Kasumi usually was perfectly clean and practically  
sparkling, but today she looked like hell. Her hair was wildly  
standing in every direction, and she had bags under her bloodshot  
eyes.

"Please don't yell," Kasumi said softly, cradling her head.

"This happened last time Hild was over, too," Atasuke whispered,  
and walked over to his mother. "C'mon, Mom, you can go back to  
bed - Chiyeko said she'd handle breakfast today."

"Hnnn," Kasumi mumbled by way of assent. "Hope she took after  
Ranma... Hild was hell on my kitchen, don't need another Akane..."  
She let her son guide her back to her room as Chiyeko started  
rifling through drawers and the fridge.

"Hmm, eggs... red vinegar... pepper... and ketchup!" (1) Chiyeko  
said. "That and some toast will be a good breakfast." She started  
heating up a pan and hummed to herself. While someday she hoped  
to learn how to make a real Japanese breakfast, with warm miso  
soup and the works, the quick breakfasts she learned to make on  
the road were hot, easy, and filling.

Absorbed in her task, she completely missed Ranma and Hild  
walking out to the dojo.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Hild lounged against the wall of the dojo while Ranma sat and  
meditated, composing her thoughts. The daimakochou was  
perfectly willing to let Ranma think it over all day - a day, a month,  
a year, even an entire mortal lifetime was small potatos to someone  
like Hild. Besides, there were few mortals quite like Ranma,  
especially nowadays. She had never understood why some of the  
goddesses had liked to chase tragic heros before she met Ranma,  
but she had to admit it was rather fun.

And Chiyeko had salved a lot of the pain that Urd had caused her  
over the eons.

So the Daimakochou Hild sat and awaited the judgement of a mere  
mortal.

She studied Ranma as the martial artist sat there, breathing steadily  
while sitting in seiza. She knew Ranma better than anyone - even  
Ranma him/herself. Hild had read Ranma's files many times. She  
had been there when he came back with Happousai's body and a  
gaping hole where her left eye had been.

She knew what was under that left eyepatch. It had been her gift,  
after all. A smirk crept across her face when she considered the day  
Ranma took that eyepatch off. It wouldn't be so far off now - she  
only had to wait mere days, until they were in China again.

Reminiscing about the past, she almost missed Ranma open her  
visible eye. The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

"So you really are a demon," Ranma said calmly. "And is my  
daughter a demon too?"

Hild hesitated a bit. "Chiyeko is the same as she has always been. Is  
she any less your daughter?"

Ranma closed her eyes. "That wasn't an answer."

"Yes," Hild said, "Chiyeko is a demoness." What came next were  
the hardest words she ever said, after Urd, but she had said them  
about Urd as well: "But if you leave and she wants to go with you...  
I'll let her be a mortal," she ground out, giving Ranma a glare that  
said if the cursed martial artist did that, she'd make damn sure she  
stayed cursed.

Ranma grunted, having not opened her good eye and completely  
missing the glare. The image of Urd popped up in her mind for a  
few seconds and passed away. Urd was with Sifu... which meant...  
"Urd is a goddess, isn't she?"

"-Yes." Hild said, with great bitterness.

"I won't keep Chiyeko from her mother," Ranma said, even though  
her heart went cold at the thought. Chiyeko had thought of her as  
her mother for years, and her female body had the hormones which  
had her half convinced her daughter was right in her delusion. She  
knew how much it would hurt Hild so see the girl walk away, and  
wasn't going to cause anybody that kind of pain. She opened her  
right eye again. "You don't have to worry about that. I'm still hurt  
you never told me-"

"You wouldn't have wanted to have anything to do with me," Hild  
said irritably. "Say with a straight face that you wouldn't have been  
terrified of me!"

"I wouldn't have," Ranma shot back, just as annoyed. "I killed a  
god before! Why would I worry about some demon?"

"Some demon!" Hild said, now insulted. "Some demon? Do you  
know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're Hild," Ranma snapped. "Friend, girlfriend, mother,  
and demon."

"I am the Daimakochou Hild," she intoned, "ruler of Nifelheim and  
all the demons." She looked down her nose at him. "Saffron was a  
snotling immortal king with delusions of grandeur. He wasn't a real  
god. Although," she said, and scratched her ear idly, "I think you  
could probably beat one of the minor gods in a fight... maybe you  
could take Hercules, Ryoga sort of reminds me of him."

"So you're saying you're some kind of queen of hell?" Ranma said,  
a large sweatdrop forming at the back of her head.

"More or less," Hild allowed.

"So," Ranma said, and paused, obviously struggling with  
something. "That means..." Ranma started to say, quietly, as if she  
wasn't quite sure of what she was saying. Hild leaned forward,  
trying to catch the next few words. "That means Chiyeko is some  
sort of princess?"

Hild's lean turned into a faceplant.

"Will she have to wear some sort of goofy outfit?" Ranma  
wondered aloud. "It might interfere with the art, and besides, I  
don't want any daughter of mine looking like some of those magical  
girls-"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Hild screeched, having  
recovered from her surprise. She had grabbed the shorter woman  
by the collar and was shaking her back and forth. "I'm the leader of  
hell and that's all you can come up with? You should be shaking in  
your boots, not thinking about such silly things!"

"Ranma Saotome isn't afraid of anything," Ranma answered  
fearlessly, and stared down Hild with her good eye. Then she  
amended it a bit: "Nothing but the safety of my daughter,  
anyways."

A vein throbbed on Hild's forehead. "How dare you not be  
frightened!" she said, and tossed Ranma back. "Besides, you left  
out cats. You're terrified of cats."

Ranma shuddered. "I don't even like to think of them!"

Hild shook her head. "Here I was thinking I was protecting you and  
you're too stupid to be scared!"

"Hey!" Ranma said, irritated. "Who's the stupid one here? You're  
the big bad leader of all the demons n' stuff! Shouldn't you have  
known I wouldn't be scared?"

"Don't try to shift the blame here, mortal," Hild said, growing  
seriously annoyed. All sorts of embarassing ways to annoy Ranma  
danced through her head.

"You were the one trying to shift blame, Hild," Ranma said  
seriously, pushing her temper aside. "You didn't tell me the truth  
about yourself. That hurt."

Boiled back down to the essentials of what had created a rift  
between them, Hild couldn't really twist it into being anything other  
than her fault. "I did it with the best of intentions," Hild said,  
defending herself.

"And we all know where that path goes," Ranma said with a  
smile. "Right to your front door!" She laughed at her joke, until  
Hild blasted Ranma with a thunderbolt, at any rate.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

The sound of thunder woke up Akane, who reflexively punted the  
table into the yard, screaming:"DIE, KUNO!" as she did so. Then  
she looked around in confusion, seeing no Kuno around, and got up  
to drag herself to the bathroom.

"Odd weather we're having," Atasuke said, as he looked outside.  
Not seeing any signs of further lightning, he went back to  
lecherously staring at Chiyeko's backside in the kitchen with a  
perverted grin on his face.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"Anyways," a slightly smoking Ranma said, as she stood back up  
and brushed herself off, "I accept your apology. Friends?"

Hild looked at the hand. That thunderbolt had been quite cathartic.  
"Friends." She shook Ranma's hand, then snuck a quick kiss.

"Let's go check on the kids," Ranma said with a blush.

"Let's not," Hild purred, causing Ranma's face to redden almost as  
much as her hair. "Seriously, though, I have to ask you something."

"What?" Ranma asked.

"It's simple. Chiyeko is... not fully human," Hild said. "She needs to  
learn what I can teach her about my half of her heritage, just like  
she learned the Saotome School of Anything-Goes from you." Hild  
smiled. "Just think of it as a short training trip."

"You want to take her to hell?" Ranma said flatly, her expression  
clearly showing what she thought of that.

"Oh, you say that like it's a bad thing," Hild said, pouting, then  
laughing. "She's my daughter, nothing in Nifelheim is going to  
bother her. Besides, I only want to take her to my house and show  
her how to do a few things." Still seeing that Ranma was  
unconvinced of the wisdom of this course, she continued: "It'll help  
her when she fights the Amazons, that's for sure. And she needs to  
learn it all someday."

"When's this 'someday' she learns the rest?" Ranma asked, less  
coolly, but still not ecstatic about the idea.

"Oh, anytime," Hild said with a shrug. "Now, a few decades from  
now... it's not like we're in any rush."

"A few... decades from now?" Ranma asked, blinking.

"Ranma, Ranma," Hild said, and patted the redhead on the face. "I  
told you: I'm the Daimakochou. I remember when the height of  
mortal technology was a sharp rock." She looked at Ranma,  
noticed that Ranma was still processing that thought and smirked.  
"I do believe I broke him!"

With an amused giggle to herself, the Queen of Demons walked out  
of the dojo and back to the other member of her family hereabouts.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

With the finely attuned senses of a martial artist pervert, Atasuke  
sensed the approach of Hild and scurried out of sight before she  
caught him at the kitchen's door. Hild, for her part, simply zeroed  
in on Chiyeko. "Chiyeko-chaaaan!" she said happily as she glomped  
onto the girl with a bone-squeezing hug.

"Gah! Leggo!" Chiyeko said, hurriedly dropping the pan of eggs  
she'd been cooking. "Mo-om!"

That only made Hild squeeze harder. "You called me mother! Ohh!  
Urd's never done that." Hild gave one final, last squeeze, then  
released her.

Chiyeko stared at Hild in disbelief. "Urd has never called you  
mother?"

"No," Hild said sadly, shaking her head.

"Isn't Urd older than most countries?" Chiyeko said, still  
disbelieving. "And she's never called you mother?"

"No, she hasn't," Hild said. "She doesn't know the sacrifices I've  
made for her," she added, "she simply takes her dear mother for  
granted."

"That just isn't right," Chiyeko said, putting her fists on her hips.  
"I'm gonna clobber her, sister or not."

"Now, now, don't go hitting your sister," Hild said, then thought of  
all the times she'd annoyed Urd or had her underlings do it for her.  
An evil smile spread across her face. "We should handle it  
appropriately." She frowned. "What's that burning smell?"

Chiyeko turned around in a hurry, flipped the pan off the burner,  
and turned off the stove. "Food's ready," Chiyeko said  
unneccesarily. "ATASUKE!" she shouted. "Wake your parents!"

"Hmm," Hild said, and sat up on the counter, "aren't you being a  
bit harsh on the boy?" Her eyes gleamed with a certain malicious  
glee.

"Well, he's a pervert," Chiyeko said. "A nice boy, but a pervert. I  
gotta show him who's boss. Eggs?" she asked, giving her mother a  
plate.

"Just a little bit," Hild answered. "You know, I really don't need to  
eat."

"Really?" Chiyeko said.

"You don't really need to eat, either," Hild added.

Chiyeko blinked. "Are you serious? Then all the times my — my  
father fed me that food-"

"Were totally unneccessary," Hild said. "But Ranma didn't know  
that, so don't blame him." She ate the eggs quickly and then set the  
plate aside. "You'll be taking a little side trip with me before we  
meet up with everyone else in China. There's a few things you have  
to know."

"You want to take me on a trip? Without dad?" Chiyeko asked  
excitedly. Excited - and a bit scared; she had rarely been far from  
her father in her entire life.

"Yes," Hild said, "I need you to-"

"Breakfast is ready?" a disheveled looking Akane asked.

"Hung over?" Hild asked.

"Drop dead," Akane replied, then turned to Chiyeko. "I'll help you  
carry those out." The two brought the food out to the table. Ranma  
had apparently snapped out of it, and she was sitting across from  
Tofu and Kasumi. Hild and Chiyeko sat down next to her.

"So," Ranma said, as they dug into the food, "this is the big day at  
last."

"Yes," Tofu said. "Akari had called yesterday and said she'd be  
driving Ryoga over herself, so he won't be late. Hinako will be here  
after noon."

"Taro we'll be meeting in Shanghai," Ranma said.

"I'll catch up there," Hild said. She turned to the others. "Ranma  
and I agreed she should learn about the other side of her family, so  
I'm taking her on a little side trip."

"Oh, shouldn't Ranma go with you?" Kasumi asked. "Or has she  
already met your family?"

Hild though of Urd momentarily. "Oh, Ranma's met the family,"  
she said conversationally. "It's just the family house, that sort of  
thing. I'm sure Ranma will see it someday." She smiled, inwardly  
adding that Ranma would see it sooner if she lost the upcoming  
fight with the Amazons...

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"So here we are," Ranma said, with a backpack on her back.

"Just like old days," Ryoga said, smiling. "Can I say that I've seen  
hell because of you?" he asked playfully.

"Not yet," Ranma said thoughtlessly, still somewhat concerned  
about Chiyeko's little trip.

"Huh?" Ryoga said. "Hey, there's Ukyo."

Sure enough, Ukyo and Konatsu were walking into the yard. With  
Hinako already there (and talking to fellow-educator Akane), that  
accounted for everyone who'd be leaving together.

Everyone - both those who were going and those who weren't -  
stood in a rough circle. They had done this before, or seen it before,  
a long time ago - Ranma Saotome at the center of a group of  
powerful martial artists, about to set off on some insane quest.  
Things were a bit different now - everyone was older, wiser,  
already packed, and most of all disinclined to start killing one  
another - but still similar.

"Well, everyone's here. Except Shinnosuke."

"Probably forgot his ticket," Akane said, and sighed.

"Your father is missing too," Ryoga pointed out.

"Don't remind me - he backed out at the last minute," Ranma said  
with a sigh. She turned around to Akane: "Are you sure you  
wouldn't like to come along?" she asked teasingly.

Akane reddened a bit. :"This fight's a bit out of my league, Ranma,  
and you know it. You don't need to rub my face in it."

"Jeez, I'm sorry," Ranma said, annoyed.

"Best of luck though," Akane said.

Off to the side, the younger generation shared its last words of the  
evening. "Chiyeko..." Atasuke said.

"Atasuke," Chiyeko said with a smile.

Atasuke smiled back, though not for the same reason. Konatsu had  
come up with a plan for him to stow away, but he'd need an excuse  
for being knocked out first. That meant he got to do something  
perverted. "You could die in the next two weeks," he said with  
great concerned. "We could hide in the dojo for a minute, and make  
sure you don't die a virgin."

The smile vanished from Chiyeko's face, and she smashed him with  
a mallet. "Hentai!" she said, and kicked him aside. Kasumi shook  
her head in dismay and moved over to drag her son's unconscious  
form up to his room.

"Well," Ranma said after she returned, "it's time to go." Picking up  
their gear, they all started to head towards the train station.

Nobody noticed Atasuke sneak out of his room and into a nearby  
side street, nor did they care much when Konatsu suddenly  
remembered a bag he had forgotten to bring from the Ucchan's.  
They were more concerned about making their train.  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"Bye!" Hild and Chiyeko said, and waved as the train departed. The  
two then walked out of the station.

"So we're not taking a different train?" Chiyeko asked. That had  
been their cover with the others.

"Of course not, silly," Hild said. "What kind of train would run  
where I'm taking you? Let's go in that alley; I can bring you home  
from anywhere."

Steeling herself, Chiyeko followed Hild. A few seconds later there  
was a tremendous, sudden storm, lightning flashing into the sky,  
and a dreadful fear fell over the better part of Tokyo. Moments  
after that, peace and tranquility had returned to Nerima.

The Saotomes had left as suddenly as they had arrived.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Author's Note: While what Chiyeko is cooking at (1) sounds like  
hell, it actually tastes quite good, despite sounding like Felony  
Cooking in the Second Degree.  



	15. Chapter 15

﻿FATEA Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo  
Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter  
oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Ranma and his friends were a relatively well-travelled bunch,  
whether they intended to be or not. In the train compartment they  
shared, there were no less than three people who had spent large  
portions of their lives roaming around Japan or Asia in general with  
varying degrees of purpose. And yet, as it stood, this was the  
longest journey any of them had taken by organized, modern  
mechanical means. All their previous trips were primarily on foot.

As it turned out, the martial artists really hated trains.

Hinako had retreated into a shell of teenage angst and loud music,  
with her earphones tuning out all outside noise as she buried herself  
in a fashion magazine. The mix of teenager attitude and middle  
aged maturity was weird, but most of the people in the  
compartment had dealt with her when she had much more extreme  
contrasts in her personality.

Ryoga was asleep in the corner. In all honesty, they were uncertain  
if it were possible for him to get lost on a train and somehow  
wander off, but no one was willing to test that, least of all Ryoga,  
who had loudly announced his intention not to leave his seat for any  
reason. Then a passing beverage cart lost a bottle of water when the  
train hit a jolt, and they had to hide P-chan under the seat.

The other three had been talking amongst themselves for a while,  
and talking about the one subject they all had in common: gender  
confusion. Eventually, though, Konatsu had complained that he  
wanted to practice and that the train compartment was too  
confining, so he took one of his bags and left, leaving Ranma to  
stare at him in confusion.

"Ok," Ranma said, after he left, "he's even crazier than I am. Even I  
wouldn't practice on top of this thing - we're doing better than a  
hundred miles an hour!"

"But Ranma," Ukyo said, with an innocent look, "it's called a  
'train'."

Ranma groaned with pain. "That was bad. That was horribly bad."

Ukyo laughed. "I know, but what can I say?"

Hinako eyed the two for a second, then turned up the volume to  
drown them out. They ignored her.

"Besides," Ukyo said, "you're preoccupied about something. I can  
tell. What happened between you and Hild?"

"Is it that obvious?" Ranma said with a slight smile. "It's nothing  
major... we're adults, we'll work it out. We have Chiyeko to think  
about anyways - even if she is almost an adult." Or was that true?  
Ranma wasn't sure - Hild lived for just about forever, so maybe  
Chiyeko would still be considered a kid in a few centuries. It had  
made her wonder if Hild looked at Ranma like a child, and that was  
why she thought Ranma couldn't handle the truth. She gritted her  
teeth in annoyance. Didn't Hild know her better?

"Ranma? Ranma?" Ukyo said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"I'm sorry," Ranma said, giving another half-smile. "Just zoned out  
a bit."

"You are out of it, sugar," Ukyo said with a concerned look. "Just  
talk to me about it. After all, what are best friends for?"

"I guess..." Ranma said uncertainly. "I dunno if I should talk about  
it, though. Not that I don't trust you, but it's about Hild." Should  
she tell Ukyo? Could Ukyo handle it?

Damnit, that was what Hild had wrestled with, and look what had  
happened with that.

"I won't judge, Ranma. Just get it off your chest."

"I know what I want off my chest," Ranma said with a pointed look  
at her shirt. "And not much longer until they're off, too." The both  
shared a laugh. "Lemme think about it a bit. We still have a while  
before Konatsu comes back, right? I gotta get myself settled first."

"Whatever, Ranchan," Uyko said. She had a sly look to her. "You  
know... Konatsu might not be training."

"Oh, really?" Ranma asked. "What else could he be doing?"

"He might be reading ecchi manga," Ukyo said with a straight face.  
"He does that from time to time."

"What?" Ranma said, surprised. "Konatsu? That's more of a  
Atasuke type of thing... I can't picture Konatsu with that sort of  
stuff."

"Atasuke?" Ukyo said, "But he's such a quiet, well behaved boy!"

"Konatsu is, too... crossdressing tendencies notwithstanding. There  
are many upstanding crossdressers in Nerima, after all," Ranma said  
with a straight face.

"Indeed," Ukyo said, just as straightfaced. "I guess you have to  
look out for the quiet ones."

"Makes you wonder what Happousai was like... on second thought,  
I don't want to think about Happousai, period." The two shared  
another laugh.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"You have excellent taste in shoujo-ai," Atasuke said to Konatsu as  
he climbed out of the bag.

"Thank you," Konatsu said. "I try hiding it from Ukyo-dono, but I  
felt that a little reading material was in order for this trip.

Atasuke adjusted his glasses and looked at Konatsu seriously. "Do  
you have issue three?"

"Sadly, no," Konatsu said. He then regarded the young Ono  
curiously. "I did not think you were-"

"-a pervert?" Atasuke said with a smile. "Well, I have a few secrets,  
I guess." He pulled up the small bag he had brought to tide him  
over. "For instance..." he said, then pulled out another manga.

"Hmm..." Konatsu said, eyeing the manga. "I suppose Ukyo won't  
question how long I happen to be 'training'," the crossdressing  
ninja said, and took the offered manga from Atasuke, as the  
perverted martial artist rifled through Konatsu's stash.

"I appreciate you helping me out here," Atasuke said quite  
sincerely.

"I know what it's like wanting to protect the one you love,"  
Konatsu said.

"Yeah, but you helped me pay for this compartment as well,"  
Atasuke said, "and I know Ukyo barely pays you."

"Don't worry about it, kid," Konatsu said, and ruffled Atasuke's  
hair. "Now don't interrupt me; I only have an hour or so before  
someone will get suspicious, and I need to find out what Miho and  
Kikuko get up to next."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Ranma took a deep breath and faced Ukyo. "It's a secret that Hild  
kept from me. A big secret, and one that involves Chiyeko." Ukyo  
watched Ranma patiently, knowing that Ranma had to talk through  
this at her own pace. "You know how crazy it was, when Hild first  
came into Nerima, didn't you?"

"I'll say," Ukyo said. "I was right in the center of it, after all." Their  
eyes unfocused as they remembering back to that fateful day in  
Nerima.

Ranma started talking again, distantly, as "I could tell that things  
were going to be bad, and that Hild and Chiyeko would be at the  
center of it. I told Hild my secrets - but she didn't tell me hers -"

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

_It was generally a bad-omened day from the start. Ranma and  
Genma had come out of the house and found the fish in the koi  
pond dead, and the hot water heater was broken again. The sky  
was an unfriendly, oppressive gray; a low and heavy sort of sky  
that promised rain._

If it weren't for the threat of rain, Ranma would have been in, if  
not a good mood, a content one. Ever since the rather disastrous  
outcome of the wedding, things had settled into a sort of peaceful  
detente in Nerima, with the chief annoyances in his life sufficiently  
embarrassed - or sufficiently injured - that they had given Ranma  
and Akane a bit of room for their relationship to grow in together.

He looked shyly at Akane as they walked to school. He wasn't  
stupid - today was entirely too ominous to even think about asking  
- but he had set aside enough money to take Akane on a date for  
once, whenever he screwed up the courage to ask.

Ask without being pestered by Nabiki, at any rate - the middle  
Tendo daughter was still likely to meddle.

"Akane?" he asked. "Can I ask you something?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, Ranma?" she replied, as  
she paced him on the sidewalk.

"Do you know of any way to, you know, distract Nabiki for a night  
or something?"

"You mean, get her out of your hair," Akane said, smirking.

"If possible," Ranma said with a matching smirk.

"I'm sure it can be done... might require Kuno's help though."

They both made a face at that. Well, some things couldn't be  
helped.

School had passed relatively uneventfully, save for a growing  
feeling of disquiet that came over Ranma. Surely it was just the  
storm, though; it hadn't rained - yet - but the skies had gotten  
darker and darker, and the wind had picked up in a serious way  
towards the end of the day. Even the other students seemed uneasy.

Finally, during the last period of the day, the long-threatened  
storm unleashed its fury in torrential rains and a dazzling flurry of  
lightning strikes. Students screamed and jumped away from the  
windows as the sky strobed with hundreds of lightning strikes  
flashed through sheets of rain and roaring wind. The power  
immediately died, and teachers had to shout to restore any sort of  
semblance of calm.

Hinako-sensei, still in her child form, was hiding under her desk,  
leaving it to Ranma to restore quiet to the class. "Geez!" he  
yelled. "It's just a stupid storm! Kuno calls down thunder, I make  
tornados - don't get all bent out of shape because of some stupid  
clouds." Ranma pointed to the windows. "I should be the only one  
getting upset. The rain'll turn me into a girl again. What'll happen  
to you - you gonna melt or something?"

Some of the boys looked at each other. "Open the window!"  
Daisuke yelled, and they surged for the window, visions of  
redheads on their minds.

"Hey! You jerks!" Ranma said, and jumped in front of them,  
shoving them away from the window. It degenerated into a  
pointless scrum, with the numbers too great for Ranma to get them  
far from the window, but the other students were far too weak  
compared to Ranma to actually open the window with him  
defending it.

"We just want some fresh air!" one of the students complained as  
Ranma put a hand on his face and shoved him away roughly.

Then the storm abruptly stopped, as if someone had thrown a  
switch, and the clouds began breaking up almost immediately.  
Sunlight began poking through the clouds for the first time that  
day.

The students grumbled, having been denied a chance to see  
Ranma-chan.

Ranma, for his part, threw the windows open and looked out.  
"What a weird storm," he said, and then shrugged and turned  
away.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Just a bit later the two were walking down the street towards the  
Tendo home. "What do you suppose was with that big storm  
earlier, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"I dunno. Probably just a storm," Ranma said, instinctively knowing  
it wasn't true. There had been a sense of danger and forboding -  
almost an evil aura - present in that storm. He was sure of it.

He was pretty certain Akane was sure about it, too, judging by the  
dodgy looks she was giving him.

The feeling of doom began to return when he saw Kasumi standing  
out in front of the Tendo house, obviously waiting for them. There  
was a somewhat forced smile on her face.

"Welcome back, Akane," Kasumi said, and then, a bit more forced,  
"Welcome home, Ranma." There was a touch of sadness in her  
voice that made that feeling of danger congeal into a solid lump in  
his stomach. Something was up. Something very big was up.

Then Ranma entered the courtyard, and saw a deeply-tanned,  
blonde haired girl he had sadly figured he'd never see again  
standing there with a calm smile on her face, and a little baby in her  
hands that stared up at Ranma with cool blue eyes. His heart froze.

He was so screwed.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

_Ranma Saotome had sat down at the dinner table of the Tendo  
home many times in the past year. He could honestly say that this  
was, without any question, the most awkward and tense silence  
ever to descend upon the table._

Across from him, Mr. Tendo sat with barely suppressed anger. He  
and Akane had screamed and ranted before, until Kasumi chided  
them and pointed out that they were frightening the baby. Both of  
them had quieted down at that, although Akane was still trying to  
melt him with her eyes and Soun was chain-smoking away, the  
little puffs of smoke coming rapidly as he struggled to rein in his  
anger. Nabiki had been smirking, and was now babbling and  
making faces to entertain the little baby, mostly in a successful  
effort to piss off her father and sister. The infant gurgled and  
smiled happily, watching Nabiki's antics.

Chiyeko Saotome. He was a father.

There wasn't any doubt of that in Ranma's mind. He snuck a quick  
glance at her. The eyes were a dead giveaway - two copies in  
miniature of Ranma's own blue eyes. Chiyeko beamed and made  
happy noises, childishly delighted to see another face.

"I don't know what to say," Soun said, after he managed to get his  
temper fully under control. He was right - there wasn't much to  
say. The engagements were scuttled; he had responsibilities now.

"Yeah," Ranma said, looking at the table, then killed the emotions  
he was feeling and faced Soun across the table. "It's hard,"  
Ranma said. Very hard, since he and Akane had grown so much  
closer lately, "but there's only one thing-"

"The engagement will go forward," Genma said, smacking the  
table with his fist. "It's a matter of honor!"

You could have heard a pin drop in that room as everyone gave  
Genma a look of sheer stupefaction - all except Hild, who gave  
him such a cold look of lethal intent that any man with more brains  
than Genma would have killed himself on the spot if it would save  
them from that gaze. As it was, Genma simply stuttered and  
fumbled away everything else he meant to say.

"Right," Ranma said, "now that reality's set in..." Ranma turned  
towards Soun, took a deep breath, and bowed. "Tendo-san, you  
have been a gracious host and everything... and I wish it could be  
otherwise, but I cannot go through with the pledge." He looked up,  
more seriously: "Perhaps it can be fulfilled in the next generation,  
though." Soun thought about it for a few seconds, and then  
nodded, stood up, and left.

At that, Akane burst into tears and ran from the room. Ranma  
himself sighed heavily and sank back.

"I always suspected something like this would happen," Nabiki  
said, having completely ignored the preceding drama.

"Something like what, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked.

"You know. Ranma. The fiancee mess. I figured it would blow up  
in everyone's faces. Cute kid, Saotome."

Ranma gave a slight smile. "Thanks," he said.

Still ignoring everyone in favor of the baby, she continued: "I had  
planned to make your life a living hell if you ever left my sister -  
but I really can't blame you for this one." She got up and sighed,  
then looked Ranma straight in the eyes. "Look, hire me to take  
your wedding photos and I'll call everything square. Deal?"

"Deal," Ranma said, laughing.

"Boy-" Genma said, snapping out of it. Ranma punched him  
absently.

"I dunno what I want to do now," Ranma said, "but I do know  
what I've got to do now. C'mon, Hild, we've got to go to my house  
- my mother will want to see her grandchild."

He waved goodbye to the Tendos and left the house. Oh, sure, he'd  
be back for his stuff, but he was really leaving for good, now. The  
fiancee hell he'd been stuck in for so long was over, ended in an  
hour. The constant chase had made his life hell for a whole year;  
so why did he feel so bad now?

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"Then you ran into me on the way back," Ukyo said, still lost in her  
thoughts. "It took a while for me to believe you weren't playing  
some sort of sick joke on me."

"Took some time to convince you not to kill me, either," Ranma  
said, smiling.

"Yeah, well..." Ukyo said, trailing off. She shrugged. "I was hurt.  
I'd had this dream of living with you, working with you for the rest  
of my life. You were my best friend, and you'd never be more." She  
looked out the window. "You can understand why I was upset."

"I can," Ranma said, slightly huffy. "We aren't kids anymore. Even  
Ryoga isn't as thoughtless anymore." Said pig took exception to  
that comment and chomped on Ranma's ankle.

"Tell that to Cologne," Ukyo said. "She went absolutely postal."

"Yeah," Ranma said, "but I got the feeling she would..."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

_"Damn," Ranma said, after Ukyo had left. His best friend was in  
tears, and had run off after a brief fight. He'd more or less  
forgotten about the other fiancees while at the Tendo's; Akane  
herself had been enough to seriously discomfit him. But it would be  
a bad move to forget about the others; they wouldn't forget him._

Nor would they forgive him. And neither Kodachi nor the Amazons  
were too big on restraint when it came to potential rivals. Ranma  
figured Hild was almost certainly out of her league, there, and  
Chiyeko...

...he certainly couldn't let the BABY be put in danger.

"Hild, I need to tell you about something," Ranma said suddenly.  
"There are other people after me; and they're dangerous. After we  
meet my mother, I'll help you lay low. I don't want you to get hurt  
- let me deal with them."

"Enemies?" Hild said, smirking.

"No, worse," Ranma said, "former friends."

"I'm a big girl, you know," Hild said. "I can take care of myself."  
In fact, Hild knew she could protect the two of them better than  
Ranma could, but this wasn't the time or place to demonstrate it.  
First, Ranma might run off, and second, it would probably derail  
some really good fights.

Ranma held her hand and looked her seriously in the eye. "I want  
you to promise that you won't try to fight them. I don't want to see  
anyone get hurt."

"I can protect myself, Ranma," Hild said, her eyes flashing  
dangerously.

"Maybe," Ranma said, "but I gotta protect you... and Chiyeko.  
This mess is my responsiblity; I can't have you get hurt in it.  
That's why I want the promise." He took a deep breath.  
"Promise?"

Hild sighed. "As long as Chiyeko isn't hurt, or I'm not hurt, no, I  
won't interfere."

"Promise?" Ranma said, with a smile.

"OK, I promise. Does that make you feel better, manly man?"  
Hild said, goading him.

Ranma bristled a bit, but chose to ignore it. "I've gotta warn you  
about my mother," he said, "she's a bit weird."

"Weird?" Hild said. 'I never had a mother,' she thought inwardly.  
'Perhaps that's why I did such a bad job with Urd...'

"Yeah," Ranma said. "She has... particular notions. I dunno how  
to put it. You'll see when you meet her." He looked pointedly at  
Chiyeko. "Or maybe the baby will distract her completely."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"And did little Chiyeko-chan ever distract her!" Ranma said,  
laughing. That was a rare happy memory from that dark set of days;  
her mother was so distracted by Chiyeko's presence that the fact  
that all Genma's arranged marriages had gone down in flames  
wasn't even remarked on by Nodoka. Her manly son had given her  
a granddaughter, and all was right with the world.

"I believe that," Ukyo said, laughing as well. "When Chiyeko was a  
baby, you couldn't keep your mother away from her. You'd swear  
she was her baby or something."

"Except when the diaper needed to be changed," Ranma said,  
wrinkling her nose.

Ukyo laughed some more. "Well, most people prefer being  
grandparents to parents, I guess. All of the fun without much of the  
responsibility." She looked out the window wistfully for a while.  
Ranma watched her and the smile faded from her face.

"Ukyo, you know, you should live your life while you still can-"

"Relax, Ranma, I'm a big girl," she said, cutting her best friend off.  
"We were talking about your problem with Hild, right?"

"Problem?" Ranma said, blustering. "It's not a problem, I'm just  
venting a little..."

"You were angry about Hild keeping a secret," Ukyo said flatly.  
"I'd say that's a problem for any couple."

Ranma's face turned as red as her hair. "Well, if she didn't keep it a  
secret, damnit -" She cut off and paled, realizing for the first time  
exactly why she was so angry at Hild's revelation. Her friends had  
done a lot worse than hide what they really were, and had still been  
forgiven almost instantly, without lingering ill-feeling on her part.:  
Ryoga's constant interference in his love life and Shampoo's first  
edition run of kill-girl-Ranma.

"If she didn't keep the secret, what?" Ukyo said.

"If she didn't keep it a secret, I wouldn't be stuck as a girl!" Ranma  
shouted, angry. Then she formed a fist. "And if I didn't have such a  
fucking big mouth, I wouldn't be stuck either. 'Promise me you  
won't try to interfere, Hild.' Goddamnit!" Ranma punched the seat  
she was on, putting a hole in the Japan Rail seat and startling  
everyone else in the room. She glowed bright green for a few  
seconds until she got herself under control.

Ranma looked up to see everyone staring at her with wide eyes, as  
Hinako took her headphones off and Ryoga woke up from his nap  
and stared with piggish stupefaction. "I'm... I'm sorry," Ranma  
apologized. "I need to walk a bit, and deal with my temper." She  
walked out of the room shakily.

Hinako and Ryoga looked at Ukyo expectantly, who shrugged  
helplessly. She had no idea why Ranma suddenly thought Hild  
could have fought off the Amazons... but if so, the blonde haired  
woman was far more powerful than she had ever expected.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi,  
Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of  
ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to  
it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus,  
Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership  
of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Author's Note: I know I told people on the forum it was going to  
be a big chapter, but it was mushrooming beyond what I expected,  
so I've chopped it into two parts. Next time you'll get to see Hell,  
Hild, and Chiyeko again. For those of you who hate flashbacks, you  
get to see hell twice.  



	16. Chapter 16

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Ranma wandered the train, in a daze. If she hadn't made Hild make that promise, would the Amazons have ever been able to lock her? Even if she was only as strong as Saffron... but Hild didn't think much of Saffron...

"_Son-in-Law_, I don't think I need to tell you that you're in a world of trouble now, do I?" Cologne had said, looking down with an expression of... anger? sadness? Ranma couldn't quite read the expression on the aged Amazon.

"I don't care about your stupid laws," Ranma said irritatedly. Really, this sort of stupidity was par for the course with the Amazons. They weren't bad people - by Ranma's rather generous standards - but their stupid laws threw monkey wrenches into everything.

"Our laws are our life," Cologne insisted. "We can't simply pick and choose which ones to follow. You've had a child with some outsider woman, Son-in-Law-"

"That happened before Shampoo decided she was married to me," Ranma snapped, "even if I cared about your dumb laws in the first place. Which I don't."

Cologne stared down Ranma for a few minutes before speaking again. The other people in the store they were both in at the moment took an opportunity to clear the hell out of the building. Finally Cologne looked away. "I may like you, Ranma, and I might even have taught you were you not married to Shampoo, but you have had a baby with this outsider woman. If you go with her," Cologne turned back, her eyes narrowed, "it would be an insult to the entire Amazon nation."

Ranma flipped her the bird. He knew where his responsibilities lay.

"So that's your answer?" Cologne asked.

Ranma nodded and dropped the baby stuff he had been sent to get, taking a stance. "You want to fight, then fight."

Cologne smiled. "Impertinent and fearless," she said, chuckling. Then her face hardened. "You might have defeated Saffron, but that doesn't mean you can defeat me. Especially as you don't have the Gekkaja here."

"I don't need that to beat you, old woman," Ranma said, his eyes hard. He shifted backwards and took up a defensive stance.

Cologne shook her head. "Then so be it. Ranma, you are an enemy of the Amazon tribe until such time as you return to your lawful wife."

"Make me, old hag." And with that, Cologne flashed forward, almost faster than Ranma could see. He bent backwards and twisted around, barely clearing the tip of her cane. With his free hand, Ranma smashed one of the racks of shelving in the store, spilling buckets and wastebaskets all over the floor.

The elder stood her ground. Ranma had managed to disappear under one of the scattered containers, a trick he'd undoubtedly picked up from Happousai at some point. No matter. With a mighty kiai, Cologne pushed them all away with her aura into other racks and shelves, hoping to smoke Ranma out.

Nothing.

Cologne cursed under her breath as she noticed Ranma had taken the baby stuff he'd dropped and left. She quickly exited herself, not wanting to be caught at the scene of the disaster.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"Good, she's leaving," Ranma said softly to himself. He'd managed to go up and hide above the acoustic tiles in the ceiling without Cologne noticing.

"So, Ranma, what did you do to get Cologne-chan after you?" Happousai said conversationally, scaring Ranma half out of his mind. He did, however, manage to stifle any sound.

"I kinda had a kid and it wasn't with Shampoo," Ranma answered quietly. "What the hell are you up here for?"

Happousai looked insulted that Ranma couldn't figure it out, and opened his mouth just before realization hit. "Wait, you have a kid?" Happousai got a lecherous look to his face. "So who was it? Akane-chan? Ukyo?" He rubbed his hands together. "I bet it was Kodachi. She's always seemed the kinky type."

Ranma turned beet red. "None of the above, old geezer."

"Oh, managed to see a girl on the side? Ranma, m'boy, I'm so proud of you!"

"Nothin' like that! It was a girl I knew before all the engagement stuff!"

Happousai's eyes widened. "So this baby is already born? That's good to know. Of course, now you have two targets to protect..."

Ranma blanched. "They wouldn't possibly..."

"Oh yes they would!" Happousai said. "'Obstacles are for killing', I think is what they call it."

"Hell will freeze over before they hurt a hair on my kid's head."

"You're going to need training." Happousai looked at Ranma keenly. "You will train your child in Anything-Goes?"

"Of course," Ranma answered.

"Then I'll train you," Happousai said. "You have seen to it that the school survives another generation - if YOU survive. Besides, I need another person to stay on the kill-on-sight list the Amazons have. Keeps some of the heat off." Happousai chuckled.

"No panty stealing?" Ranma said suspiciously.

"No. None." Happousai said seriously. Then he frowned. "Well... maybe some panty theft. In the interests of training."

Ranma rolled his eyes.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Ukyo walked through the train, a worried expression on her face. The look on Ranma's face was truly terrifying, as if some revelation had shattered her whole world. She wasn't going to leave her friend to wander around the train in a total daze. Ranma might do something stupid, after all, or make a scene.

More of a scene that a one-eyed redhead on a Japanese train would make, at any rate.

She hustled back in the direction she'd seen Ranma go when a hand reached out and grabbed her coat. She slapped it away and looked down in irritation, then paused in startlement.

The young girl in the chair pulled her headphones off. She had pale platinum blonde hair much like Hild and Chiyeko, along with the same tanned skin. "Hello, Ukyo,' she said smugly.

Ukyo backed up. "And who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"You don't recognize me?" the young girl said, even more smugly.

"You look a lot like Hild or Chiyeko-chan..."

Smirk. "I do look a lot like Hild, don't I?"

Ukyo decided that, as interesting and enigmatic as this was, her first priority had to be Ranma. "I don't have time to play twenty questions," she snapped, "so either cut the suspense and tell me or shut up. I've a very upset friend-"

"-who is currently hiding in the lavatory," the girl finished. Ukyo gave her a blank look. "I was just keeping an eye on Ranma."

"You're Hild, aren't you?" Ukyo asked.

"Smart girl," Chibi-Hild said, smiling.

"Is this some sort of weird technique like Hinako's? And arent't you supposed to be with Chiyeko?" Ukyo looked around for her friend's daughter. She'd be a much better help at getting Ranma out of her mood.

"I'm in two places at once," Chibi-Hild said.

Ukyo quirked an eyebrow. "Nice trick."

Hild smiled. "I certainly think so. Now, do you want to wait until Ranma comes out of the bathroom, or break down the door?"

That question required a bit of thought, before a better solution occurred to the okonomiyaki chef. "Actually, Konatsu could jimmy the door open, if I knew where he was. Uh, for that matter, Genma could probably open it, too... blasted thief. But he's decided to run away and hide, like usual, so no luck there." She cursed the fat panda in her head - the one time his thieving, dishonorable tricks would be of use, so naturally, he wasn't around.

"Let's go find him, then."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Chiyeko coughed a few times, getting the scent of ozone out of her lungs. Nifelheim looked much the same as her brief glimpse of it eariler: dim, cold, and suffused with a red glow off in the distance. She'd asked her mother why it was cold, because she always heard that demons lived in firey pits and such, but apparently it varied by region. Helheim was cold and fairly boring, if you ignored the venomous snakes.

In answer to her previous joking question, however, it turned out that she did have a private hell, and she was literally in it. At the moment, she was trying to make a futon.

"Just picture the futon in your mind, and sing it into existence like the last one," Hild said encouragingly. They'd been singing together for a while, and several futons (progressively getting less futon-like as you went down the stack) were piled up against the door.

"Easy for you to say," Chiyeko grumbled.

"What was that? What would your father say if you had such a poor attitude?" Hild said, trying to mimic Ranma's bellyaching motivational style.

"You know, that really doesn't work for you," Chiyeko said. "Dad can sound far more pathetic. Probably because he's not the Queen of the Demons and all."

"Shut up and sing," Hild growled.

Chiyeko gave it her best shot, missed several notes, and ended up with a lumpy pad with fuzz growing out of it like an enormous moldy slice of half-eaten bread. "Yech," she said, not wanting to touch it. She finally decided to kick it away.

"Not bad for your first try," Hild allowed. "Now try again."

"You know, when I told Dad school was like hell, I didn't think it was literally true."

"Less talk, more singing!"

She sighed and tried again, feeling the flow of magic within her.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

The worst moment of her life kept flashing before her mind's eye.

"What the hell did you do to me, old ghoul?" Ranma shouted angrily.

"Nothing major," Cologne said. Ranma's bedroom was suffused with thick, choking incense, now glowing lightly after Cologne had activated it with a short incantation. She grinned evilly. "Feeling different?"

Ranma paused. Hild and Chiyeko had bailed out of the room, thank the kami. If this was poisonous... but it didn't feel poisonous.

Then Ranma noticed her chest was slightly... more there. "What have you done?" he said, with a sinking feeling.

"Nothing that hasn't happened to you before," Cologne said, still smiling. "Just locking your curse again."

"...I'll kill you," Ranma said.

"You'll try," Cologne taunted, "but you're still 99 years too young to defeat me."

"Bet you're wrong," Ranma said, advancing as his - her? - features steadily feminized. "Just ask Saffron." He lunged forward, flashing faster than he'd ever moved before, and nearly clipping Cologne with a punch.

"Temper, temper," Cologne said, darting backwards out through the window.

Ranma followed, not caring that the elderly Amazon was doing it to get more maneuvering room. He gladly followed her into the spiral and let her launch him.

"Fool," she said simply, and turned to head after the other two insults to Amazon honor when the tornado suddenly died out.

"Hiryuu Korin Dan!" Ranma yelled, sending the collected energy back down towards Cologne, who barely made it out of the way and was flung aside by the blast. After a quick check, Ranma ascertained that the change had indeed progressed almost all the way, and she burned with anger. "Don't think I don't know the counters to your moves," Ranma said angrily.

"I haven't showed you all my tricks," Cologne said, gathering herself.

"Neither have I," Ranma said, and vanished. Cologne instantly went on guard, but failed to block the first finger strike to her back, although she managed to deflect the rest by striking Ranma with her staff.

"Ingenious," Cologne said. "I've never seen such a technique." Her statement was met with silence. She wondered if he had taken the opportunity to leave the fight again, and was making her look like a fool. There was only one way to find out. She swept her staff over the ground explosively, lifting a veil of dust and grass. Knowing Ranma would seek the high ground to keep her in sight, she hurled a powerful ki blast into a tree that was the most likely place.

Ranma leapt out of the tree, flipping gracefully as he descended, and dropped his invisibility in order to close with her.

Cologne and Ranma clashed violently, dancing around each other in a terrifying battle between near-equals. They tore up the yard and beat each other senseless.

He was too focused, Cologne realized, for her to easily win, even if she killed him. Ranma was hellbent on killing her, and probably would even if it killed him. She accepted that as neccessary - dying at the hands of Saffron's killer would make her go down into Amazon legend.

She almost didn't notice the paper firecrackers surrounding her until it was too late. She scrambled out of the way, taking a heavy hit from Ranma as she did.

For her part Ranma was knocked out in the blast. Happousai had chased away Cologne...

"I hate her," Ranma said, curled up in the train lavatory. "I hate her..."

_...a cold body curled up in the moonlight, dead, with her heart torn out, Ranma standing over her like a vulture in the moonlight, a red left eye glowing like the embers of hell..._

"...I killed her, I killed her..."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Chibi-Hild placed a finger over her lips, and then pointed to a compartment door.

Ukyo pointed to it and mouthed, 'Konatsu is here?' How the hell did Hild know? Konatsu was a skilled ninja.

Hild crouched down and pressed her head against the door, ignoring the looks she got from other passengers. She smiled and giggled, knowing Ukyo would get curious and listen in as well. Sure enough, the chef crouched down and put her head against the door. You couldn't really hear well through the doors, but you could identify who was in the compartment, namely, Konatsu and-

"Atasuke?" Ukyo said in surprise, jumping back from the door. She then opened it quickly, catching the two secret perverts in the act of hurriedly hiding their hentai manga. "You perverts!" she said automatically, and smashed the duo across the head with her spatula.

"Ukyo-sama!" Konatsu pleaded. "It's... it's exactly what it looks like," he finished lamely, and bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry!"

Ukyo rubbed her eyes. "Don't worry, Konatsu, I already knew about your little... hobby."

"Really, Ukyo-sama? Would you mind if I used Instant Nyannichuan?" Konatsu asked hopefully.

Ukyo turned green. "I don't want to know!" she said, and smashed him with the spatula. "Geez..."

"It's an honest question," Atasuke said, pushing his glasses up his nose in a thoughtful gesture. "After all, you used to date a man who turned into a girl."

"That isn't... Ranma didn't want that curse!" Ukyo snapped.

"But-" Atasuke said, stopping when he noticed Chibi-Hild. "Who are you?"

"I'm your worst nightmare," Hild said, poking Atasuke in the head.

"You look like a shrimpy version of Hild," Atasuke opined. "Is Urd your mother?"

As much as she wanted to keep being mysterious and annoying, she recognized a perfect setup when she saw one. "Yes, Urd's my mother," Hild said. "and I'm going to tell my Auntie Chiyeko what a pervert you are." Atasuke sweatdropped.

"Konatsu, would you like to get back in my good graces?"

"Anything, Ukyo-sama," the crossdressing ninja said, clutching at Ukyo's leg.

"First, let go of my leg," she said, "and second, help me break into the women's restroom."

"Lead the way," Konatsu said.

Atasuke looked at the girl left behind. "Are you sure there I can't convince you to tell Chiyeko?"

Hild innocently looked him in the eye. "I want a pony," she said.

'What the hell?' Atasuke thought. "Um, that's kind of expensive," he said.

"I want YOU to be my pony," Hild said.

"Uh..."

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Back in Nifelheim, Hild was chuckling evilly to herself.

"What's so funny, Mom?" Chiyeko asked, looking at the older demoness suspiciously.

"Oh, perhaps you'll find out someday," Hild said nonchalantly, twirling some hair around her finger. "Nothing serious."

"Where are we going, anyways?"

"We're heading down to the central offices for Nidhogg, the main computer system of Nifelheim," Hild said. "Much like Yggdrasil is used by the gods and goddesses to help them run the world, Nidhogg helps us in our duties, keeps things organized, provides you with power while you're on Midgard - think Earth - that sort of thing."

"So, uh," Chiyeko said, being far more ignorant of computers than others her age, thanks to her constant wanderings with her father, "I have to log into this computer or something?"

"Oh, no," Hild said. "I logged you in shortly after you were born. I just want to show you my office, and teach you a few things most normal users don't know about the system." She looked at Chiyeko with a frown. "You must promise never to tell Sifu or the goddesses anything about what I'm going to teach you."

"Even Urd?" Chiyeko said, thinking of her half-sister.

"Even Urd. Especially Urd, actually," Hild said. Urd, being half-demon, could actually use some of the things she was about to show her daughter.

The doors opened to Hild's private office, and they stepped through. "So the elevator stops right at your office?" Chiyeko asked.

"The elevators will stop anywhere, if you're allowed to go there," Hild said. "You shouldn't limit your mind to mortal concepts."

Chiyeko looked around the Daimakochou's office with interest. It was unusually understated for belonging to one of the most powerful beings in the universe, with polished black surfaces accented by the occasional touch of brass. She sank into one of the chairs, finding the silky cushions immeasureably comfortable.

"More relaxing than it looks, right?" Hild asked.

"Yeah," Chiyeko said. "Can I have a chair like this?"

"Maybe," Hild said distractedly. "That isn't what I wanted to show you, though." Hild waved at the back wall as she sank into the chair next to her daughter. The wall behind her desk seemed to come apart into many panels flying through space, revealing an enormous void behind the wall seeming to extend off into infinity. Long threads of rainbow hues ran through the void, glowing brightly or fitfully in their turn. "This is a representation of the structure of human destinies," Hild said.

"Whoa," Chiyeko said, words failing her.

"It's impressive, isn't it? Even other demons here don't get to see this, usually." The threads zoomed by, as they seemed to be flying through the void. They came to a particularly dense cluster of threads, intricately knotted, with many bright threads. Some of them were almost blindingly intense, with a single red thread of deepest crimson being brightest of all, followed by a line shading from blue to red along its path. The two seemed horribly tangled, although that went for most of the lines in the vicinity.

"Those lines," Chiyeko said, seeing what was obvious. "Those are you and Dad, right?"

"Yes," Hild said simply. She pointed to a spot where a dark red line broke off from the two and looped around, tying the cluster of lines into even worse snarls than before, then closely orbited Ranma's line. "That was when you were born. If I had never brought you to your father,." Hild gestured and the lines shifted, with Chiyeko's line looping tightly around Hild's, and Ranma's line changed to a pure blue all the way, as the threads took up a much more orderly path.

"Why did you bring me to Dad, then, if it would make everyone's life hell?" Chiyeko asked, secretly fearing that Hild would laugh evilly or something.

Nothing of the sort happened.

After a few awkward moments of silence, she turned to see Hild looking at the ground seriously. She caught her daughter's eye and gestured at the threads again, restoring them to their tangled state. "Chiyeko, your father would agree that it is better to know your child, and live a life of hell, than to not know your child, and have all the power in the universe."

They sat there in the darkness for a while, silently thinking. "Urd," Chiyeko said, breaking the silence.

Hild nodded and looked sad. "I miss Urd. Any mother would." She looked at Chiyeko's line again and traced it with her eyes. "After Urd was taken from me, I wished that I could be a mother and not make the same mistakes. And here I am, having let your father raise you... it's like I didn't learn anything at all."

"Mom?"

"Yes?" Hild said, still so distracted by the threads of fate that she didn't notice Chiyeko get out of her chair until she'd been tackled.

"Don't say stuff like that!" Chiyeko yelled, hugging her mother. "It's not true!"

Hild smiled and laughed, and Chiyeko joined in.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Chibi-Hild and Atasuki found Ranma being helped back to her compartment by Ukyo and Konatsu. It was obvious that Ranma was totally out of it and lost in her own world of recrimination and memories. "Hey, loverboy," Hild said, "snap out of it!"

Ranma's eye seemed to blearily come into focus on Hild's face. "Hild? What are you doing here?"

"Hild?" Atasuke said. "Hild! Hey!" he said, angrily shaking his fist.

"Now, quiet, you. I'll tell Chiyeko." Atasuke instantly shut up.

"Huh?" Ranma said, still not totally there. "Hey, how come you're a shrimp? And aren't you supposed to be with Chiyeko?"

"I can be in two places at once," Hild explained.

"Oh, cool," Ranma said, suddenly standing on his own. "Hey, could both of you be adults?"

"Why, Ranma," Hild said smoothly. "That's a very perverted suggestion. Two of me-"

"That's not what I meant!" Ranma said, all flustered. "I meant I wanted to know if I could learn to do it!"

"Two of you?" Hild said thoughtfully. "That's even more perverted."

"As a martial arts technique! Not like that!" Ranma said, even more flustered, her previous concerns completely forgotten. Ukyo and Konatsu shared a knowing look and led them back to their compartment.

And Atasuke? He was passed out with a horrible nosebleed.

But you probably guessed that.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Author's Note: It's not dead yet! I'll finish this soon, I hope...


	17. Chapter 17

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Atasuke sweated heavily. It was quite easy to understand why.

Apart from Konatsu, everyone had been very insistent on his remaining behind. The fight with the Amazons had a high chance of going sour and he was horribly out of his depth fighting at that level. China was far too dangerous for him. The adults looked tremendously irritated that he'd tagged along.

Oddly enough, the only ones who didn't look annoyed were Hild and Ranma. He understood why Hild wasn't annoyed - she was taking great pleasure in his troubles - but Ranma seemed almost... approving?

"Now arriving at Nekomi station," a voice announced over the intercom.

"That's our stop," Ranma said.

"We're picking someone up here?" Ukyo asked.

"No, catching a plane, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu corrected. "I have the tickets."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just fly out of Toyko itself?" The short train ride had confused everyone.

"Get real," Ranma said, "I couldn't afford to buy everyone place tickets on JAL or something," she explained. "but I've made friends over the years. Non-martial arts types. We're hitching a ride on a cargo plane. They're flying from here to Shanghai."

"I see," Ukyo said, sweatdropping. "First class all the way."

Ranma easily lifted P-chan up as if he were a pet, and walked off the train with the rest of them. Once they were in the station she handed Ryoga to Atasuke, who grunted slightly as he caught the pig. "Can you take P-chan here to the men's room?" Ranma asked. "Konatsu and I might belong in there, but people would talk."

"Uh, sure," he replied, walking into the restroom.

"You still use the men's room, Ranma?" Ukyo asked disbelievingly. "Haven't you been a girl for the last seventeen years? You know, longer than you were a guy?"

"Thanks for reminding me," Ranma said bitterly. "I said I belonged in there. I didn't say I used it."

Konatsu opened his mouth, then thought better of it.

"I'm afraid of what you wanted to say," Ranma said with a smile. The male kunoichi carefully avoided Ukyo's gaze.

"I don't want to know. Perverts, the lot of you," Ukyo said, pretending to be exasperated.

"I'm not a pervert!" Ranma said angrily. Hild tugged on her shirt and coughed loudly. "That doesn't count and you know it! I have extenuating circumstances!"

"You like it and you know it," Hild said, leading Ranma to sulk until she saw Ryoga and Atasuke reappear.

"Ryoga!" she called out, thankful for any shift of topic that the lost boy might cause.

"Ranma! Prepare to die," Ryoga said conversationally, drawing stares from passerby.

"I left my will with my mother," Ranma responded, "or were you talking about something else? Insurance for the flight?"

"That might not be a bad idea, considering you'll be onboard," Ukyo said thoughtfully.

"Considering I've never flown before, perhaps we could talk about something more relaxing?" Atasuke said nervously. "Like homicidal psycho Amazons?"

Ranma nodded and stepped away from the group, taking a look around the station. It was fairly busy, but there was a café that had a decent view of most of the station, and would be a good place to watch for the arrival of the rest of the team. She pulled out her wallet and handed some money to Konatsu. "Don't let them spend it all," Ranma said, knowing the notoriously cheap ninja wouldn't waste the yen. Truthfully, she wasn't that worried, but more than thirty years of dealing with her father or Nabiki or both had left its mark. "You three eat in that café and wait. I just have a little side trip to make." She grabbed Atasuke's arm and jerked him along. "You too, Mr. Stowaway," she added, before placing Atasuke into a headlock and walking him out of the train station.

She didn't let him out of the headlock until she needed to flag down a taxi. "What did you do that for?" Atasuke said, embarrased. Even if he never saw the people in the station again, being dragged through the place in a headlock was a mortifying experience.

"You deserved it, for reading those hentai manga. Seriously, are you trying to be another Happousai?" Ranma said as they got in a cab. The three of them crammed into the back seat of the tiny taxicab. "The only reason I didn't do worse was because you tagged along."

"Take us here," Hild instructed, handing the cabdriver some directions. He nodded and took off.

"I thought you didn't want me coming along to China," Atasuke said, surprised.

"It wasn't my place to say, dumbass," Ranma said. "That was your parents' call. But if you didn't come to help Chiyeko whether you were supposed to or not, I'd have found some way of blowing up the engagement." Atasuke gulped. "But you're here," she continued, looking him up and down, "no matter how pathetic and ill-prepared you are."

"Thanks," Atasuke said sourly. "Do you two always have to harass me?"

"Yes!" Ranma and Hild answered in stereo, and laughed.

"We're your girlfriend's parents!" Ranma said, earning a confused glance from the cabdriver, who veered into the next lane during the distraction. "It's our job."

"So who are we seeing, anyways?" Atasuke asked, looking out the windows at the town. Nekomi seemed a nicer place, one that was on a more human scale, than Tokyo.

"Visiting Urd," Ranma said, somewhat coolly.

"And some relatives of Sifu's, actually," Hild added. "Just picking up something that'll help."

The cab stopped. "They live in a temple?" Atasuke asked, somewhat confused. There were a bunch of people standing out in the yard, as if they knew they were coming, even though they hadn't called ahead. He recognized Urd and Skuld, and the other two bore a distinct resemblance to Sifu, especially the man, who he assumed was her father.

"Well, yeah, they live in a temple. Kinda fitting, I guess," Ranma said, leaving Atasuke to wonder just why that was fitting. "Hey, have you got it?" Ranma asked.

Belldandy smiled. It was so nice to have friends over (that Hild was usually an enemy was glossed over). "Yes, Mr. Saotome," she said, getting a sudden start out of Keiichi. "Urd told me about your little problem. Come on inside and we'll start."

Seeing that Belldandy and Urd were going to be inside, and not wishing to talk to Hild if humanly possible, Keiichi turned to the only other human present. "So, what do you know about fixing motorcycles?"

Atasuke sweated and hoped Ranma wouldn't be too long.

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"There sure are a lot of people here," Chiyeko said, having met more people - or demons and demonesses, anyways - than she felt like she'd met in her whole life.

"Oh, yes," Hild said with a smirk. "And we have room for plenty more. But as for demons, you've only met a few of my employees." Hild picked up a phone and dialled a long number. After a few moments, she said, "Mara? I need you in my office ASAP." She hung up and looked at her daughter. "Nervous?"

Chiyeko slouched in her chair. "Not really. Just... um. This is the furthest I've ever been from my father."

"Chiyeko, we've only been gone a few hours," Hild said patiently.

"What?" she yelled. "But you had me making futons and other crap for what seemed like days!"

"Time and space are such mortal concepts, Chiyeko," Hild said, with a look of insufferable superiority. Chiyeko had great experience with that sort of look - it was a favorite of her father's.

"Hmph," she sniffed.

"Yes, boss?" Mara yelled, throwing open the door. Chiyeko looked at her; this demoness seemed a bit frazzled and frightened of her mother, although, to be honest, pretty much everyone here was terrified of Hild.

"Could you call up the Norn file?" Hild said, leaning forward over her desk. The transformation her demeanor had undergone when Mara opened the door was dramatic; it was all business now. "We plan on making some adjustments to your assignment."

Mara cringed and quickly pulled up the relevant documents, which quickly manifested as an actual physical file folder bulging with papers and photos. Chiyeko would have thought it was a neat trick, except that her father had once stuffed half the contents of a room in her shirt without it being noticeable while escaping from Amazons once. A single folder was kid stuff against that. "Right here, boss," Mara said nervously. "Everything's inside."

"Good," Hild said, and quickly seperated the file into two stacks. She placed one stack back in Mara's folder and handed it back. Then she made a new folder, and placed the second stack in it, and handed it to Chiyeko. "We would like to introduce you to Demoness Second Class Trainee Chiyeko. Chiyeko, meet Demoness First Class Mara."

"Nice to meetcha," Chiyeko said in typical Saotome rudeness.

"Um, likewise," Mara said, even more nervous. New things or people plus Hild had never added up to anything good in her book.

"You will be assisting Chiyeko in her first assignment, which will be starting in a few weeks," Hild instructed. "We have great hopes for her here, and the assistance of a suitable mentor to help her avoid simple rookie mistakes would be invaluable." The unstated message was quite simple: I'll be keeping an eye on you.

Mara sweated. "Sure thing, boss! Anything you say!" She looked at her new assistant. Looked fairly young, didn't even know enough to be frightened of the boss. Not good. "I'll keep a close eye on her."

"Very good, then," Hild said, and looked away. Mara stood there nervously, wondering if she'd been dismissed. Her discomfort increased for a full minute before Hild looked up as if she were surprised she was still here. "Oh, since you're still here, could you get my daughter and I a drink?"

Mara's jaw seemed to hit the floor. "D-d-d-daughter?" she yelped. Urd was bad enough! Once she collected herself, she bolted from the room in search of the needed drinks, wondering what she'd done to offend the Daimakochou.

Once she left, both Hild and Chiyeko burst out into laughter. "She's a little high strung, isn't she?" Chiyeko said, laughing.

"Well, yes," Hild said, smirking. "But she works hard and does well. Even if she has some rather crackpot schemes." She assumed a thoughtful pose. "Now, I want you to read that folder front to back. It's very important."

Sighing, Chiyeko reflected that she'd found Furinkan High to be like hell, and hell to be like Furinkan High; one of life's ironies, she supposed.

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It was a rather ratty, run-down airport outside of Shanghai, which itself was barely visible on account of all the smog which burned their lungs. However, you wouldn't know it from the people jumping out of the back of the old 767 on the tarmac. They looked out across the landscape like they were the vanguard of an army. "China," Ranma said with finality.

"Is the air always this bad?" Atasuke said, coughing.

"It will get better away from the cities," Konatsu said.

"It's Mint and Taro," Ukyo said, noting their approach.

"Mint!" Ranma said cheerfully, then maliciously added, "And Pantyhose!"

"Stuff it, fem-boy," Taro said angrily. The two stared at each other in mutual loathing for a few seconds.

"Prince Herb sent me to inform you that he supports your mission against the Amazons, who have become remarkably troublesome and frosty of late," Mint said to Ranma's chest.

"Express my thanks to the Prince," Ranma said, bowing. "Also, I and my chest are both glad to see you again, Mint."

"I'm sorry," Mint apologized. "I've been married for years and I still can't help it." He was still talking to Ranma's chest, though.

"Please look somewhere else," Ranma had a slight edge to her voice this time, and Mint looked away. Ukyo and Hild giggled. "Well, let's get going."

"It's almost night out," Hild asked. "Can't we stop for the night?"

"No," Ranma said. She paused and looked at Hild with a slight smirk. "No rest for the wicked." That earned her a flat glare, so Ranma hurriedly continued. "I want to get out of this damn smog as soon as possible." No one disagreed with that, so the party quickly left the airport.

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Chiyeko nervously wiped her hands. She'd read the folder full of information her mother had handed to her, and this seemed to be a hell of a lot more difficult that manifesting random objects had been. Honestly, she'd rather use her father's training methods than attempt this.

She would even give her grandfather's training methods consideration. Not _serious_ consideration, but-

"Stop stalling, Chiyeko," her mother drawled in a bored fashion. "This is a simple skill any demon should know." She buffed her fingernails idly on her shirt before leaning over and looking at her daughter curiously. "Or are you just chicken?"

"Of course I'm frightened," Chiyeko said with a frown. "I'm just making sure I know what I'm doing. I'm not chicken or anything." She knelt down on the floor and started drawing circles, lines, and characters in the demonic script of Nifelheim, making an elementary transportation gate.

Hild smirked. She might not posture as much as Ranma did, but her daughter certainly could be prodded out of reluctance by a few jabs at her courage. "Not bad for your first try," she said, seeing how the girl was putting things together.

"Heh heh," Chiyeko said, rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "Thanks."

"Now, focus on your father and try to transport to a dojo nearby," Hild instructed.

"Why a dojo?" Chiyeko asked.

"You spent a lot of time in dojos over the years," Hild said. "There's a natural connection for you, formed from all that practice. It should be easier for you to move yourself to one."

"All right," Chiyeko said. She clenched her eyes shut, raised her hands, and activated her gate.

Hild nodded and sat back. She'd probably be getting a call from the girl in a few minutes; no one ever went where they intended the first few times.

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It was very quickly apparent to Chiyeko Saotome that she hadn't gone anywhere close to where she wanted to.

'I'm in the Tendo Dojo,' she thought. 'Crap.'

Well, obviously, she was just going to have to try again! Chiyeko started drawing on the floor of the dojo with her fingers. The pattern would burn away when she activated it, so she wasn't worried about Auntie Kasumi seeing weird patterns on the floor and thinking aliens had landed (and challenged Ranma, of course), or whatever.

Finished, she inspected her gate for errors. She'd had to make a few changes because this was Midgard, not Nifelheim, but it wasn't anything too difficult, right?

"Chiyeko!" a voice behind her cried out. "What are you doing here?"

She turned around to see her aunt drop a bucket full of soapy water on the ground.

'Great, how am I going to explain this?' she said, sweating.

"And what on earth are you doing to our dojo?" Kasumi said, pointing to her gate.

'I'm drawing a demonic portal to shunt myself through hell to the destination of my choice,' she thought. "Nothing!" she said.

Kasumi sighed. "You're an even worse liar than your father."

"Um, thanks?" she said.

"Well, clean up when you're finished," Kasumi said, frowning. "I don't want you leaving a mess in the dojo." There was a brief pause. "It's impolite."

"I won't leave a mess, Auntie," Chiyeko assured her.

"If you see Atasuke, tell him his father and I are going to revoke his internet privileges for sneaking off after you," she continued, waggling her finger at the youngest Saotome.

"I'll be sure to tell him," Chiyeko said. "Umm..."

"Yes?" Kasumi asked patiently, seeing that the girl wanted to ask her something.

"Aren't you going to ask what I was really doing?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

Kasumi just gave her a weary expression of long-suffering.

"I see..." Chiyeko said, sweatdropping. This dojo had seen stranger things, after all.

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Ranma and company - now bolstered by Taro and the Musk's representative - walked over the crest of the ridge that marked the entrance to the Jusendo valley. They were approaching the Amazon village by the long path; the scenic route, as Hild had jokingly called it.

The scenery included a tall and ominous looking volcano, and a mountain, or the remnants of one, that had been cast down into a hill of scree and rubble through which trees had grown. It was the home of one of Ranma's greatest enemies - the home of one of the Amazons' most ancient enemies.

"Hello, Kiima," Ranma said, upon seeing the winged woman. It had been a long time, but these were faces he would never forget.

"Saotome," Saffron's bodyguard said, narrowing her eyes. "I should have known."

"Known what?" Ukyo asked, confused.

"That he would travel with her," she said, pointing to Hild.

"Little ol' me?" Hild asked, smirking cutely.

"Saffron has said you are not permitted in the mountain," she said, keeping an eye on Hild.

"We don't need to go inside," Ranma said, with a smirk of her own. "I would just like to discuss something with the Phoenix King."

Kiima grew thoughtful, and turned to her guards. She nodded once and they relaxed, before turning back to Ranma. "Then tell me what you intend. We are listening..."

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Chiyeko had finished up, checked her runes and symbols, saw they were right, and transported herself again.

This time, she found herself in a dark room with no light, and blindly stumbled over unseen objects. She clapped her hands and focused her power, trying to create some light. Instead, she called up some flames, which caught on the kendo equipment she'd tripped over and started a little fire.

Looking around, she saw that she'd managed to send herself all the way across town, into the dojo behind her school, where the martial arts clubs, of which Furinkan had entirely too many, practiced. Fortunately, it was deserted at the moment. "Heh heh," she laughed nervously, not wanting to chance setting her magical fire out. "The dojo spontaneously burst into flames, right? It could happen to anything..."

Quickly, before someone investigated the rapidly spreading fire, she drew another diagram on the floor. She didn't have as much time to check things, since the flames were moving quickly. "Third time's the charm," she muttered, and activated the sigils, picturing her father as clearly as she could in her mind.

This time, she materialized in the center of a great concentration of magical power. Small cool pools of water surrounded her in every direction, with slender bamboo poles standing still in the still muggy air. It was a place she'd never been, but knew at once.

"Jusenkyo," she breathed, and then looked to the north. Her parents were close, she could feel it. It wouldn't be much longer.

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DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

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Author's Note: I told you it wasn't dead yet! I finally got a version of the chapter I wasn't disgusted with, and decided to put it out, rather than stalling for another year until I had something I really liked.


	18. Chapter 18

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

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Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

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It was a small, unpretentious house at the edge of the village. Outside the village, even, if you went by the walls, although it had plenty of company outside the shelter of the walls: lonely little homely homes out in the fields, not close to their sisters like houses in the center of Joketsuzoku.

Such placement was a punishment, a place for dishonored warriors of the tribe. It usually wasn't the home to the tribe's strongest warrior.

But sometimes even the strong might not be able to defend themselves in certain situations. Politics was one of those. Love was another.

Shampoo, victim of both, wiped the sweat from her brow with one hand as she hoed her small garden. Her purple hair - cut shorter since her disgrace - was hidden under a kerchief, keeping it from the sun's rays. It would go gray enough soon. Age was not kind to her family.

Although, she reflected whimsically, at least they got a lot of it.

Reflections on the unfairness of aging inevitably brought her back to thoughts of her youth. It beat the hell out of tending to her radishes. When she was younger, before her life went to hell...

Hell, _she_ was probably around that age now. His daughter. That bastard.

She sighed. You never did forget your first love... not completely. Not even if you hated them. She had a similar love/hate relationship with her village. Deciding which she hated more ate up plenty of her copious spare time, all ten minutes of it that wasn't already occupied by her children and the rigors of life out in the boondocks.

She should be in Tokyo right now, damnit!

Speaking of her kids, they were way too quiet. She'd better stop and see what they'd done now.

There were three people standing at the edge of her garden. She recognized them well enough; Perfume, who'd taken over after her great-grandmother's untimely demise, and two flunkies she could wipe the floor with - with one hand behind her back.

Come to think of it, she was stronger than Perfume, the supposedly strongest in the village, too. The thought made it easier to paste a smile on her face as she bowed to the three invaders. "Honored Matriarch," she said, managing to (mostly) keep her voice free of insincerity. "What may I do for you?"

"You can help by rectifying the appalling loss of honor you suffered, Shampoo, blood of Matriarch Cologne," she said, tilting her head. Perfume was not so old, nor so strong, as her great-grandmother was, and had a voice like flint, with a heart to match.

"Honorable one, I have children not of age," she said smoothly. "I cannot leave the village for war. The duties of motherhood have precedence-"

"-Saotome is coming here," Perfume said.

She stared expressionlessly at the elder for a few seconds before composing her thoughts enough to speak. "If he-"

"She," Perfume corrected.

"-if she is coming here... what does she intend?" Shampoo asked.

"That is none of your concern. You will obey your village in this matter," Perfume said, poking her with her staff. "Do not compound your dishonor."

'I could snap that stick over your head,' she thought, and kept the evil little smile from her face. "I understand," she said.

"I question if you do," Perfume sneered. "I have taken the liberty of taking steps to ensure your loyalty." The look of horror on Shampoo's face told her that she understood. "They will be unharmed - if you do your duty."

Shampoo bowed to the Matriarch as she left. Her face turned into a scowl, and she threw the hoe into the dirt angrily. She had reached a decision on her old question.

For her childrens' sake, though, she couldn't act on it.

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Chiyeko Saotome was no fool, and she could feel the terrible power contained in Jusenkyo, a dreadful curse that permeated everything: the soil, the water, the foggy air she was breathing. It was, of course, strongest in the still waters of the thousand springs that surrounded her. The power was familiar. Not like hers... different.

It felt like Sifu. Or maybe Urd.

"This is... divine magic?" she said, confused. Granted, her moral view of the universe had taken several dizzying hairpin turns after she was finding out she was the daughter of the queen of hell and a godslaying gender-bent martial artist, but weren't they the good guys? Why had they created such a terrible place such as Jusenkyo?

She threaded her way through the pools with extreme care, staying way the hell away from the edge of the ponds. Her attention was so focused on staying safe that she didn't register the approach of the guide until the last second.

"Miss Customer! Welcome to the fame training ground of accursed spring!" he said, greeting her in broken English.

"I don't want to be here," Chiyeko replied in Japanese, not even noticing what language he'd spoken.

"Oh, honored customer is Japanese," he said apologetically. "So sorry!"

"Don't worry," she said. "I get that a lot." Where the hell was Hild 'from', anyways? "I'm, uh, half-Swedish," she lied by way of explanation, and twirled some of her blond hair on a finger nervously. "Could you show me the, uh, spring of drowned girl?"

The guide looked at her blankly. "Customer is already a young girl. Oh! Do you have curse, what needs cure of Nyannichuan?"

Briefly, she considered asking where the boy spring was, but decided that dangerous water could wait until after the Amazons were beaten up, or (assuming her mother got angry) reduced to free atoms. "No. I just want to see the spring," she said.

He shrugged. Stupid or at least incomprehensible requests from visitors were pretty much the usual sort of nonsense he had to deal with at Jusenkyo. At least this one had the sense to stay off the damn poles. "Follow," he said, and led her to a pool towards the edge of the patchwork of springs. "This is Nyannichuan."

Chiyeko eyed it for a full minute, thinking about all the pain and trouble it had caused her father, her face set in a deep and angry frown. Then she considered that it had brought some happiness into her mother's life, and was probably responsible for her being around at all, and her face lightened somewhat.

But she still spit in the spring before she left, and added her own curse to the valley's sorrows.

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Miles away, Saffron stiffened as he stood at the gates of his mountain.

"Milord?" one of his attendants said, already nervous because of the proximity of the God-Slayer, Ranma.

Saffron glanced in the direction of Jusenkyo. "It is nothing," he said finally. "Let us see what Saotome has to say, beyond what she has told Kiima." The Phoenix King would not go to anyone - not even the feared Saotome - as an equal, and after being told of Ranma's plans, had decided to wait here, and discuss matters outside the gates. Certainly, he would not allow Saotome's companion - the Daimakochou herself, from what he could tell - inside his domain.

Although, privately, he knew that if they really wanted him dead, either of them could do it alone, never mind together. There was something of venegance which had put its mark on Saotome and made her more - or less - than human. The stories of his fight against Cologne made her out to be more powerful than their last fight...

Saotome's party emerged from the woods. They had a brief discussion, and then two of them seperated from the rest. "Saotome," he said, acknowledging her. Then, to be polite, "and Hild. Welcome to Phoenix Mountain."

"But not too welcome," Ranma said, and smiled slightly. "Kiima has told you?"

"You intrigue me, Saotome. I know of your feud with the Amazons, and expected you to want to wipe them out."

"Times change," she explained. "I just want to make sure that they will deal - and don't stab me in the back."

"And what makes you think this technique, this Happo-Go-En-Satsu, will make me agree to be your backup?" Saffron asked.

"Sometimes, you are reborn. You are the last and best line of defense for your people. What if you're still young?" Ranma asked. She pointed up at him, emphasizing his size. "Right now, you're strong, you can crush anybody, other than Hild and I, anyways. As a kid, though, you're nothing special." She smirked. "Learn this, though, and you've got a shortcut."

"I see," Saffron said. "Why ask me, though? Surely they wouldn't cross the daimakochou..."

Ranma shrugged. "They might not be as perceptive as you," she said. "Plus, we'll be trying to keep her under wraps. Even my friends don't know..."

The Phoenix King nodded. "I see. I will help you, Ranma. But after this, I ask you to trouble my people no more."

"I understand completely - so long as it is mutual."

"You do?"

"If I ever come back to this part of China, it'll be too soon."

"I suppose you understand after all." They both laughed at that. "It is agreed, then! I will join you the day after tomorrow. That is when you plan on holding your tournament, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Ranma said, and bowed goodbye.

Hild stayed a moment longer, smiling mysteriously. "You know, Saffron..." she began, letting him fill in the rest.

He smiled. "I'm not accepting any offers, Hild," he told her.

"Heh." Hild turned around to go, then gave him one final look. "See you at the end, then."

"Indeed. Until Ragnarok," he replied, and watched her go. The smile didn't leave his face until she was safely out of sight. Then he frowned. "And it won't be too soon." He really hated being reminded of his place in the pecking order of the powers-that-be. The idea that he'd be 'guarding' her for a few days...

Oh well, a deal's a deal.

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Ranma's party had gotten as close as they dared to the Amazon village before stopping to make camp. They'd be noticed and someone would come out soon enough to negotiate the terms of the coming fight, but it was best not to provoke them unduly. Amazons were rather touchy... like 'old dynamite sweating beads of nitroglycerin' touchy.

They were partway into setting up the tents when Chiyeko stumbled out of the brush. "Hey! I found you!" she yelled, pulling bits and pieces of brush off her as she went.

"Yeah," Ukyo said, upon seeing her. "How did you find us? We're in the middle of nowhere..."

"Uh, I got lucky?" she said, scratching her head. She couldn't exactly say she had homed in on her mother, who stood out like a beacon.

"She's like the anti-Ryoga," Ranma said, covering for her daughter.

"Hey!" Ryoga said, annoyed.

"Well, she is!" Ranma said, daring him to make something of it. "Anyways, since you're here, help Atasuke out."

"All right," she said in a chipper tone. "What's he doing?"

Ranma blinked. "Aren't you surprised that he's here?" she asked.

"Uh, no?" her daughter replied, before remembering that there wasn't any good reason - none she could give in front of the others - for how she'd known. She had a bit more sympathy for the lie her father had been stuck with living for years. "I, uh, figured he'd sneak off!"

"Well, help him get water for the camp," Ranma said, rolling her eye at the obvious lie.

The boy in question held out a jug. "Here, take one."

"I hopped over a stream back there, looked pretty clean."

"Lead the way, then," Atasuke said cheerfully, following her. And if it let his eyes drift a bit low, there was no one out here to see.

"You know, your mother said she's revoking your internet privileges for sneaking off," Chiyeko said idly.

Atasuke grunted acknowledgment, being more occupied with staring at her butt, when what was wrong with that statement hit him. "Hey, when'd she tell you?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, when I bumped into her in the dojo earlier today," she said, mouth running ahead of brain in classic Saotome fashion.

"Today?" he yelled, surprised.

"Uh..." Chiyeko said, realizing the magnitude of the error she'd just made. She wasn't used to hiding secrets like this.

"C'mon, there's no way you could have been in the dojo this morning and way out here," he gestured at the wilderness, "right now. Do you have some of the magical junk our parents were always running into, or something? Because I kinda want to see some of that stuff..."

"Er..." she said, pausing. She felt like crap lying to him. He was... her fiance. And he'd come out here to the ass end of China for her, putting himself at considerable risk for her, when she wasn't in any real risk at all, considering that her mother would probably go postal if she were ever in serious danger of being harmed.

He deserved the truth.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself, taking her headband off. "There's something I need to tell you."

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Ranma was looking into the growing fire, poking it idly with a stick, when she saw them. "They're here," she said. The rest of the crew took notice, sitting up straighter, or at least slouching in a more alert manner.

"Where?" Ryoga asked, looking around.

"Two hundred meters, seven o'clock," Ranma called out. That the direction was behind Ranma, and the distance well into the bush, didn't go unnoticed, and they looked at each other. "Trust me, I'm not paranoid." Still looking at the fire, she changed over to Chinese. "You can come out now, I can see you," she yelled.

A lone Amazon emerged from the woods a few seconds later, holding a spear and looking quite confident for someone all alone in front of her people's most fearsome enemy. "I saw both of you," Ranma added, which took some of the wind out of her sails. The warrior woman hesitated, then continued towards Ranma as if she hadn't said anything.

"What does the enemy of the Amazons desire?" she asked imperiously. "Have you come to offer your life in exchange for the end of our feud?"

"Not quite," Ranma said, still contemptuously facing away from the Amazon. "You've taken a lot from me, you know, and I want satisfaction. I'm challenging you. A tournament, to settle this once and for all. When I win, you'll drop your harassment of my family and my school."

"And if we win, Saotome?" she asked.

Ranma stood up and dusted her hands off. "You'll have my death - for all that's worth you."

"What makes you think we'll agree to this?" the Amazon sneered. "We would have that in war, too."

"Ahh, silly girl," Ranma said, taking a few steps towards her. The weight of anger the martial arts master had nurtured towards the Amazons cracked her facade in the presence of her enemies, and a black air of killing intent seemed to smother the spear carrier, who backed away automatically. "Saffron and Herb don't like that your stupid laws keep bringing me back here, again and again. So they support me in this. Decline and we destroy you."

Retreating much faster than she'd come, the Amazon departed. Ranma turned back to her friends. Those who hadn't been there at Jusendo were startled by the sheer intensity Ranma had, and those who were were instead startled by the difference in Ranma's determination this time. Then Ranma saw them staring at her, and smiled, breaking the mood. "I'm a bit wound up," she said. "Sorry about that."

Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "A bit?"

"At least it's over more than some bread," Ranma retorted, and the two of them laughed. "So, anyways, what's for dinner?"

Everyone sat down around the fire, and Hild sat down next to Ranma, looking the redhead over. So relaxed, after having been so ruthless. It reminded her of... herself.

They had been brought together by the Ultimate Force. She saw that now. He was in every way a hero, except in one - he was hers. "Ranma, dear, can you come with me?" she whispered.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

"So how many of us will actually be required to fight?" Ryoga asked idly. The private little conversation between Ranma and Hild had ended earlier, and the two of them had retreated to their tent with tea and a little rice, leaving their friends to pass time after dinner.

"Dunno, it's up to the Amazons," Ukyo said. "At a guess, four of us."

"You won't need to fight, Ukyo-sama," Konatsu said immediately. "I will handle the fighting for you."

"Thanks, sugar," Ukyo said. "I hate not helping Ranma out, but, let's face it..."

"You haven't kept up with martial arts as much," Ryoga finished.

"So, my father, myself... Ryoga, and Konatsu?" Chiyeko said thoughtfully, then turned to Atasuke. "You can carry my stuff."

"Gee, thanks," he joked. "Seriously, I'm pretty good at first aid, and I've learned a lot from my father... which like it or not will probably end up coming in handy."

No one felt like denying the probability of someone getting injured, and it put a damper on the conversation fast. Chiyeko guided Ryoga back to his tent while the others cleaned up, and soon after, the coals of the fire slowly cooling off, they each went into their tents, to try to catch some sleep.

Time passed, and in the silence, Chiyeko tossed and turned, nervous. Apparently, she couldn't really die, at least not easily, but if she was unlucky she might be out of commission for decades. She was also nervous about Akatsuke; what if the Amazons broke their promise, or attacked in the night? What did he really think after she told him what she really was? He said it didn't matter, but was he lying?

She crept out of her tent and slipped over to Atasuke's tent, determined to find some answers, and opened the tent carefully, looking at him. Apparently he was also sleeping lightly, because the moonlight made him open his eyes.

Chiyeko hushed him, one finger over her lips, and slid out of her shirt before creeping towards him. "What you said earlier, was it true?" she whispered.

"What are you doing?" Atasuke said quietly, confused.

"What does it look like?" she replied. "We might die tomorrow."

"We might die tonight," Atasuke replied fearfully.

Chiyeko looked upset. "You don't want to?"

"I want to, but..." Atasuke looked meaningfully in the direction of Ranma's tent.

"Afraid we'll go to hell?" she sniped.

"Even that wouldn't save us from your parents."

"Children!" Ranma's voice sounded out, breaking the moment. "Get back to your tent, Chiyeko!"

She grabbed her shirt and escaped, cursing softly. Just how the hell had her father known she wasn't in her tent anyways?

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

oo o o o o o o o o o o o o oo

Author's Note: This chapter was written to the sounds of Bach's "Little Fugue", in various renditions, looped over and over again. If you listen to the song loop as you read, you'll have the experience of reading it while in the same mind as the author - a man with a song stuck in his head, going slowly insane.


	19. Chapter 19

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

* * *

Disclaimer to follow at end of chapter

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

* * *

Morning found the two teenagers making breakfast. Neither of them had slept well, and the adult contingent had found various reasons to shove the chore into the laps of the youngest people present. It was just as well that they were put together, since they had a lot to talk about.

Chiyeko in particular had been thinking over the last night. After her father startled her out of her actions, she'd thought over them again. She'd never done anything like that before, and it dawned on her that on some level, she'd realized that there were no rules for her any more - as Atasuke had put it, what was she going to do, go to hell? Nothing restrained her actions but her wants and her mother, really.

Atasuke, on the other hand, had a similar (but opposite) revelation the day before. There really was an afterlife, and that meant he really couldn't continue holding onto even the vestiges of what the old master had taught him. "Chiyeko, about yesterday-"

"Forget it, I wasn't really myself," she said, cutting him off.

"Ahh, I wasn't talking about the tent," he went on. "I meant before, when you told me about, you know..."

"My mother?" Chiyeko said, thinking that was a good way to talk about the whole 'I am a demoness' thing without announcing it to the whole world.

"Yeah. I know it's a bad time to mention it, but... you know how I studied Happousai's old techniques?"

Chiyeko stiffened. She was still pissed about the underwear incident. And the furo incident. "Yes..." she said icily.

Atasuke grimaced. Well, he supposed he deserved that. "There's more the old grandmaster left than just techniques..." He let his mind flicker back, to some of the stuff he'd found. After hearing some of the stories from the old Nerima gang on the airplane, he'd concluded that the really dangerous stuff had been thrown out. Even so... "Some of it was, uh, dangerous stuff. So I've had a little experience with magic before."

"And you want to help me learn how to use mine?" Chiyeko asked, her earlier annoyance at being reminded of certain incidents leaving her entirely at the thought of maybe learning something more at her level.

"Actually, I was thinking that I want the magic as far from me as possible," Atasuke said, sweating. "I'll make an exception for yours, though. I trust you." Chiyeko smiled at that. "But I think some of Happousai's stuff has a lasting effect on me." He looked around. "I was wondering if you knew how to check."

"I don't," Chiyeko admitted. "I don't know much about this magic stuff. Hey, watch it - you've almost burned the eggs."

"Oh, right!" Atasuke said, taking the pan away. "Breakfast!" he yelled, getting everyone's attention. They came over, one or two at a time, having been preoccupied.

Ranma sat down and yawned, holding out a hand for her food. "Is Taro back yet?" she asked idly.

"No," Chiyeko replied. She looked at her mother. "I don't trust that guy."

"Neither do I," Ranma cheerfully said back. "But he's great muscle to have in a brawl."

"That's what I figured, Ranchan," Ukyo chimed in. "I figured he was just here for backup."

"Yeah, like Saffron and Herb. But more... _immediate_, if you know what I mean."

Ryoga shrugged, scratching his beard. "Your call, Ranma. I think he's a bit more up to a fight than I am, nowadays."

"Ryoga, when your friends are counting on you, you'll never let them down," Ranma said, getting nods from everyone and a smile from Ryoga. "I can't say that about Taro. Hell, I don't even know if he has any 'friends' as we'd use the term, just occasional allies. I can't trust him to give his all in these one on one fights." She smiled, remembering a couple epic bar brawls in her last visit to China. "On the other hand, you'd need a gun to keep him out of a battle. Or a riot."

Ryoga snapped his fingers. "I thought that was him in Beijing! 'Escaped genetics experiment' my ass!"

"How could you mistake anything for the Pantyhose Monster?" Ukyo asked, with some justification. That cursed form was rather distinctive.

"Bad camera angle," Konatsu guessed. "I didn't know he was involved in the rioting, either. Which side had he joined?"

"Neither, he was just out to raise hell," Ranma said, shrugging.

"As we all are, out here," Hild said, the smile on her face just daring Ranma to say more. Instead, she just got a fishy look, which made her smile even wider.

* * *

"Glad you could make it," Ranma muttered to the straying member of his team as he finally returned. "You barely beat the Amazons here."

"Yeah, whatever," Taro said lazily, and cracked his knuckles. "I'm wondering why you cut me out of this little tournament, though. I was looking forward to kicking some ass."

"They're probably going to try to stab me in the back when they lose. Feel free to run wild when it happens." That done, Ranma tossed the core of the apple she'd been munching on behind her, and stood up, facing the Amazon delegation. There was another one of the shriveled up prunes leading the group - Perfume, who'd taken over for Cologne after she'd killed the old matriarch - two women he didn't recognize, and a purple-haired one that he did.

'The years have not been kind to you,' she thought, with more than a touch of vindictiveness. At least her curse had treated her nicely in that regard, maybe because it was the spring of drowned 'young' girl.

There was a distinct tenseness in the air. They were all gathered together - not just Ranma's party and the Amazons, but her... witnesses, she supposed would be the correct term. Certainly Saffron's presence was unnerving to the Amazons, although he was almost as distracting to her own team.

"So we meet again," Perfume said gravely.

"For the last time, you mean," Ranma said, crossing her arms. There wasn't a hint of fear in her stance, despite the people facing her - or the people surrounding her. There was good reason for her confidence, and everyone knew it: slayer of Saffron, killer of Cologne, and perhaps a dozen other would-be Amazon heroines.

The Amazons had not been idle, either; the scope of the challenge Ranma presented had ensured that. Whether that training and focus would help them now - that was the question.

"Whatever happens," Ranma said, her one eye glaring coldly, "the kiss of death and the kiss of marriage will not hold for the others here. This is between your honor and mine - if you have any."

Perfume narrowed her own eyes. "That will be acceptable to us - but your fights, Saotome, will be to the death."

"Perfect," she said, smiling. There was a sharpness to that smile she found unnerving. "It will protect you as much as it protects them." With that, the redhead waved everyone back, opening up more room in the clearing, and released her battle aura.

Despite Ranma's barely controlled killer intent, mixed with unshakable confidence, Shampoo's eyes flicked from Ranma's display to the woman who'd stolen her away. Alone of all the people watching it, Hild didn't look at Ranma's vengeance-fueled chi with some mixture of grim seriousness or fear. Instead, she had a look of barely suppressed glee.

That worried her almost more than Ranma.

"So who will fight first?" Ranma asked.

"I will," Perfume said, stepping forward.

Konatsu stepped forward without hesitation. "I'll be your opponent," he said, not giving anyone a chance to dispute it.

The others nodded, respecting the crossdressing ninja's level of dedication to his friends. He probably was the worst of the four at martial arts, and was going to force Perfume to reveal as much of her arts as possible.

"Then let us begin," Perfume intoned, and the other fighters gave them space.

* * *

Konatsu was hard pressed almost at once. Ranma had been a force of nature for almost two decades, pushed by war; her daughter was trained and pushed harder than Ranma had been, and Ryoga was, well, Ryoga. Against an Amazon of Perfume's caliber, who had been working furiously just to keep up with Ranma's progress, he was sorely outclassed.

But he wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime genius ninja for nothing.

Raw speed served him well, dancing out of the way of the aged woman's strikes, using reach and weapons to counteract her skill and explosive agility. Parry the cane with a sword, keep out of the tiny crone's hands and feet, and fight on the defensive.

He was going to lose. He'd known that going in - but this was about more than one fight.

Constantly retreating, and trading space for time, he wasn't surprised to find himself being led into a spiral. It was interesting, since he wasn't releasing any hot chi, but then again, there was plenty of it from the spectators, so maybe that was the matriarch's game.

Once he hit the center of the spiral, he didn't even hesitate, but flattened himself against the ground as the elder forced the air into a violent tornado. He knew that he was vulnerable down here, and wasn't surprised to see her thrusting her cane at him as if she were going to pin him with it like an insect. He couldn't dodge without letting go, and he couldn't let go without being sucked into the tornado.

He'd planned to fight dirty from the start, however. He took a deep breath, bit down on the pill he'd put in his mouth before, and exhaled flames that were whipped to a white heat by the wind.

Perfume leapt up, was caught by the tornado, and spiraled around once before canceling her technique and descending gracefully, her white hair trailing behind her like a streamer. "So," she said, amused, "you were planning for that. I am impressed."

Konatsu smiled.

"Not impressed enough." And she vanished.

The male kunoichi twisted and blocked, deflecting dozens of blows, before suddenly crumpling to his knees. Perfume reappeared behind him, twirling her cane like a baton. "Too easy," she said, and her expression suddenly grew hard. "Take your friend away, Saotome."

Ranma and Ukyo were already moving. They took Konatsu under each arm and dragged him to their side of the clearing. Atasuke was next to them in a flash, checking him over expertly.

"You're surprisingly good at this," Ranma noted, as she stood up.

"I've had a lot of practice, with Akane as a dojo master," he answered quickly, distracted by his quick-check of the injured man. "No major injuries. He'll be fine."

Ranma walked forward, claiming the next turn in the tournament. She waved forward her challenger. her smile a thing of pure vengeance. "It's time to take out the trash," she said, getting an angry murmur from her opponents, and even her witnesses were offended by her brashness. Only Taro laughed, being that sort naturally.

She didn't care who was offended. In the end, Ranma Saotome never loses.

And judging by the fearful feel of her opponent's chi, that opinion was shared by the Amazon.

"You have much to answer for, enemy of all Joketsuzoku!" she said, pointing a thin rod at Ranma. With a fluidity born of long practice, she flipped it around in her hand, revealing a long blade inside. "I will make you pay for your crimes."

Ranma laughed. "What's your name?"

The Amazon blinked. "What?"

"What's your name?" she repeated, crossing her arms. Her smile changed, more amused, and her one visible eye relaxed as well.

"Brush! My name is Brush! Remember it!"

Ranma smiled. "Well, Brush, I'm not here to answer for my crimes. I'm here to make you and yours answer for theirs. Got it?"

A glare was her only answer.

Chuckling, Ranma uncrossed her arms.

Then, she vanished.

Brush barely had time to even move before her balisong knife was kicked free, spinning end over end out of the clearing, her wrist bent at an unnatural angle. On instinct she blocked Ranma's knife hand to the throat, but the older woman's leg ended right behind hers as Ranma finished off her roundhouse kick, and the force of Ranma's left hand slamming into her right arm twisted her around and tripped her.

Ranma's right arm continued its natural downward swing, counterbalancing the knife hand, and fired off a Moko Takabisha into her stomach as she hit the ground. The Amazon's legs kicked up involuntarily, and Ranma grabbed hold of a leg just long enough to follow up by punting her into the air.

With no leverage, the airborne Amazon couldn't hope to dodge her Kijin Raishu Dan, and the bloodied warrior flopped on the ground, mercifully unconscious.

"Take her and go," Ranma said, turning back to her side.

* * *

"Ranma has gotten stronger," Shampoo said, a line of sweat the only sign of fear she showed. Brush was young, but strongest of the younger generation. Everyone expected her to lose; Ranma had killed Saffron and Cologne, and now was in the prime of her life and was at the very event she'd spent the whole of her adulthood preparing for: revenging herself on the Amazons once and for all. To say that it was a bad battle was a great understatement; it was one they would have refused.

Apparently Ranma had foreseen that, and forced them into this fight. Privately, Shampoo thought they should have denied this battle. Run before Ranma; she would not live forever.

But no. The elders had stuck with the laws, the laws that had stood them well for centuries - for millenia. And those laws had worked... until they ran into a Ranma.

What Shampoo now saw, and now feared, and the elders did not seem to realize, was that Ranma must inevitably come. If the great Khan had this curse, and had to deal with the Kiss of Death, would they have survived? Perhaps they could have killed him, but their lands would have been burned, the weak slain, and siege and starvation would not have sufficed. If their laws had run them afoul of the Chinese, what would their arts do against the missile that would catch them without warning? The Bakusei Tenketsu did not protect against radiation.

"Have faith," Perfume said confidently. "Perhaps Ranma could defeat any one of us, but even she cannot defeat all of us."

Shampoo turned away slightly, so her face did not reveal her misgivings. She glanced at Hild, at the far end of the clearing. Ranma's lover still had that expression that gripped her with fear.

As far as she knew, Hild was a non-factor. So why was she so terrifying?

This would not end well.

* * *

"Well, that was brutal," Ukyo said, a bit unnerved at Ranma's dismantling of her opponent.

"Every second spent fighting is a second I could be spending as a man," Ranma said cheerfully. "So I have a good reason to keep things quick, don't I?

Hild smiled. "More incentive than just that," she said playfully, then turned to her daughter. She gave the teenager a cutesy look and clapped her hands. "Chiyeko-chan, can you come here for juuust a moment?"

"What do you want?" she asked, rather warily. Her mother was giving off the same sort of vibes her grandfather did, just before he was about to get her in trouble.

Hild leaned over. "Don't use magic in your match," she whispered.

"Oh, is that all?" Chiyeko said, relaxing.

Her mother looked upwards pointedly. "See those clouds?" Oddly-colored storm clouds were gathering over the valley, dented where they passed over a few of the mountains, and were growing in height. "Feel the magic in them?"

Indeed she could, despite her short acquaintance with magic. "I guess so..."

"Now, really, there's only a few people with the power to have done something like this around here," she said, giving her a sickeningly sweet smile. "And neither Saffron nor I would do something like this. You didn't do anything foolish, did you?"

Chiyeko gave a fake smile back. "You mean like spitting in Jusenkyo?" she answered, sweating.

"That's exactly the sort of thing I was talking about," Hild responded, her whisper turning into a hiss. "You know, I thought Urd inherited it from her father, but maybe it's just recessive. Whatever. Don't cast any magic, and let me worry about the storm. You worry about your opponent."

"All right," Chiyeko answered, and turned back. It seemed she wasn't up next anyways. Ryoga had stepped forward into the middle with Shampoo, and everyone's attention - save Hild's - was on the most even matchup so far.

* * *

"It's been a while," Ryoga said conversationally.

"It has," Shampoo said simply. "I wish it could be otherwise. And the beard looks very nice on you." If things had gone as they should - if that little girl had never been born - she would be on his side, Ranma's side. She was sure of that. She refused to believe Akane or Ukyo would have won that battle.

Unfortunately, it had ended before it had even really begun.

Ryoga scratched his beard absently. "It's practical when you're away from a mirror for weeks at a time," he said idly. It was pretty much a Hibiki tradition for that reason. He shrugged. "Enough talk, though. Don't think I'll go easy on you, just because of the past."

Shampoo smiled, readying a bonbori. "Keep that in mind as well," she said, and advanced on him, slowly at first, then making a quick charge at the end.

Her initial attack was brushed aside by Ryoga's umbrella. He was as strong as ever - no, stronger - but she'd become much stronger as well. She moved with the deflection, using it to help her. His head swayed back under her second strike, then he ducked one and jumped over the other of two quick snap kicks. He lashed out with his own kick; she blocked it.

Ryoga flipped away from her block, and Shampoo rolled backwards with the momentum, smoothly rolling back to her feet. She paused and cracked her neck slightly. "Very good. You've been in practice."

He nodded, then tapped the ground in front of him with his foot. It exploded into a plume of debris, followed a heartbeat later by an incredibly fast blur.

Only lightning reflexes saved her as Shampoo threw herself backwards, as Ryoga's heavy umbrella slammed into a tree like a cannon shell. It was followed by several bandannas; Shampoo laid flat, then kicked up, only to have two strong arms burst out of the ground below her and wrap around her neck.

Her face took on a panicked look, and then she jammed her fingers in the ground, finding her own breaking points to use. Shampoo folded up double, locked her ankles around Ryoga's head as the explosion freed the dirt protecting it, and flipped him over her head.

He landed as easily as she got to her feet, both of their heads ringing from the point-blank breaking point. No rest, no stopping. These were not the kiddie fights of long ago. First to pause lost.

They each immediately attacked.

Shampoo threw her bonbori low, forcing Ryoga to hop over them. He fired off a spinning backhanded blow that she easily dodged... save that hitting her wasn't actually the point of the move. She felt herself being pulled violently forward as she prepared her own strike.

'Air pressure! He's using it to pull, rather than strike-' she realized, before she caught a thunderous knee to the stomach. Her hand slapped against his ribs and leg before being thrown back, all the wind knocked out of her.

The Amazon just barely rolled out of the way before Ryoga crashed down, sinking his arm up to his elbow with a mighty punch. Then he tried to stand up and failed, and could barely even breathe. "How-"

"Pressure points," she said simply, picking up her bonbori.

Even short of breath and unable to stand, Ryoga was hard to put away, but there was no question of what the outcome would be at that point. Eventually Ryoga Hibiki fell down unconscious, and was pulled back by his friends.

Shampoo walked back to the cheers of the Amazons, as the last two fighters stepped up.

Meanwhile, the team's "medics" looked over Ryoga. "He's a lot less banged up than I thought," Atasuke said, frankly amazed.

"He's always had a hard head," Ukyo said.

"Still, he's going to bruise a lot, and we'd better make sure his eyes don't puff shut." Left unspoken was the reason: a probably better than 50/50 chance that this whole thing would end in a general fight out of Amazon inflexibility or Ranma's ability to mortally offend people. They'd need everybody in that general melee.

* * *

Next up was Chiyeko, and the youngest Saotome was filled with emotions. Fear, certainly, and anger - these were the people who'd taken her father away from her. She'd seen photos of him - the real him, not the redheaded woman he'd been forced to live as - but she'd not met him.

Yet.

There was another emotion there, too. It was something Ranma lived for in the fights, and she had always loudly denied: excitement. These battles meant something. It meant she was getting her family back, a normal family with a normal mother and...

Her brain came to a screeching halt as she rethought that last sentence. She would have a father who was at least halfway normal... no. Scratch that. Her father would be happy. Yes. That was worth fighting for.

It was worth beating this particular Amazon into a mudhole for. She didn't even bother with any sort of pre-fight conversation; she simply charged the staff-wielding adversary and started swinging.

Granted, that sort of straightforward mindless attacking wasn't so effective - the Amazon was agile enough with the staff that she had to pull several strikes, lest she leave an opening, and left few of her own to compensate. Her style seemed defensive in nature, putting a high emphasis on counterstrikes. Chiyeko tested that with a second pass, this time deliberately overextending a strike a bit.

Having expected the blow, she rolled away from it so it only stung a little and smiled. Definitely a counterpuncher, this one, and an egotist, too, given the way she showed off with a quick twirl of the staff after landing the first blow of the match.

Well, she'd land the last blow, so it all evened out for showing off.

But first things first - and the first thing was to get rid of the staff. Chiyeko tumbled back in gracefully, snapped off a few quick few blows, and hopped back. All deflected, of course; her opponent was no slouch, reacting fast to every threat. That was fine, she just wanted a general feel for how she liked to block.

The young Saotome came in for another pass, feinting with a quick jab and then suddenly reversing her momentum and struck with a blindingly fast side kick right at her opponent's chest.

Exactly as planned, her opponent reacted to the sudden change by shoving her leg away with a firm two-handed grip. Chiyeko's right hand had moved back towards her head, catching the headband she hid the demon-mark on her forehead with, and whipped it loose, charging it with her pishogue as it went. Anything Goes borrowed useful techniques from anywhere; her 'uncle' Ryoga would be proud.

The whirring headband neatly struck the staff halfway between her opponents' hands and cut it in half before whipping over the Amazon's shoulder, taking a few strands of hair off in the process. She immediately followed up on the attack before the woman could react to the destruction of her weapon. No techniques were off limit in this fight, so she swept aside both arms with a fluid movement and kicked out with her heel, hard. "Moko Kaimon Ha!" she shouted.

Despite having the attempt to kick her heart through her spine, the Amazon merely grunted and staggered back in pain, and Chiyeko's face twitched. 'Breaking point training,' she thought, annoyed. Time to improvise.

She dodged and blocked quickly as her opponent went on the offensive, using her broken staff as two shorter weapons. Really, this would be a nice time to be able to use her magic - she didn't care how tough it made you, it wouldn't make you fireproof, or help if your opponent could fire lightning bolts.

Then her opponent overextended slightly, and she elected to end the match. Chiyeko grabbed her arm, channeled as much energy as she could into her legs, and laid into her ribs like a jackhammer. The Amazon's other hand came across, smashing the stick across her knee, and she hopped back, grabbing her leg as it throbbed.

Her opponent went pale, dropped her weapons, and crumpled over, coughing blood.

She winced. She hadn't meant to break her ribs, but ever since her mother had made her an 'official' demon of Niefelheim, she'd had more energy than before and still hadn't compensated fully. The other amazons were already moving, bringing their injured sister back. Chiyeko put weight on her leg, testing it - pain, but not serious. She was still good to fight.

"Don't worry about the Amazon," her father said, clapping her on the shoulder as she walked back. "You know she'll be back in a few days."

She nodded. Injuries like that weren't too uncommon, from training or crazy opponents. It was just that she didn't normally set out to injure people.

Well, except for some crooks who really picked the wrong junior high student to hassle, but that wasn't a deliberate fight.

"Let's check that leg," Atasuke said calmly, turning around from where he'd been taking care of Ryoga. The older man seemed to be recovered enough for another fight, if needed, but was still sitting down taking sips from his canteen, with a frustrated expression. Chiyeko sighed as she rolled up the leg of her pants. She'd be frustrated too if she had lost; no one wanted to let Ranma down.

"It feels fine - just a bit sore," she said, poking at her knee. He was all business right now, even while holding a lot of very nice leg, if she said so herself. Instead, he poked and prodded at it in a way she'd expect of his father.

He took his glasses off and wiped them, relieved. "Yeah, it's nothing major. You want me to wrap it?"

She considered it for a few moments, weighing the disadvantage in mobility compared to the possibility of injury. "Wrap it; I'll try a few kata afterwards. I can always take it back off if it hampers me."

He nodded and got to work. Her father gave her a thumbs up and walked out to meet the current Matriarch. Thunder rang out from the gathering storm - though, at the moment, it was still giving them a wide berth. She looked at her mother, and could feel - even if no one else could - the subtle flow of magic outwards, building in strength as the distance grew. Exactly why the clouds were bad news she didn't know, but she didn't need to be the Daimakochou to know that storm clouds from Jusenkyo couldn't possibly be good.

* * *

"Although there could be more fights, his ends here," Perfume said confidently, walking out. She was not as quite short as Cologne, nor was she quite as old and wizened as her predecessor. She still reminded all present of the former Matriarch even so.

More importantly, Ranma believed she was not as powerful as the old ghoul, either - and she'd killed that particular bane of her life. "I really doubt that," she said neutrally. She smiled cutely. "I've killed better than you."

"All luck runs out eventually," Perfume said. No, there was no lack of confidence in the Matriarch. Ranma's smile turned predatory. Her pigtail flapped in the growing fresh breeze like a samurai's banner, and she flared her battle aura, a thing of equal parts unshaken confidence and pure murderous intent. Perfume responded in kind, and with a similar mix; there was no love lost between Ranma and the Amazons.

As if they'd agreed on it beforehand, the two snapped into motion at the next thunderclap, charging against each other. Amaguriken met amaguriken in a contest to see if pure speed could decide the outcome right at the start. Then they withdrew, circling warily.

"Fast, girl, you are very fast," Perfume said approvingly.

Ranma narrowed her eye. "Faster than you. Interesting trick you have there." She'd blocked or deflected every blow, and snaked a few of her own in - yet none connected.

The Matriarch cackled. "You don't think all of us have the same techniques, do you? Did the Tendo school have those two schools of the thief?" She glared at him. "So why would you think Cologne knew all of our most powerful techniques?"

"I didn't," Ranma said, the smile returning. "Do make it interesting, granny. Because otherwise-" She vanished, appearing next to her opponent in a flash. "-you're a hundred years too *old* to beat me!"

Seventeen years of intense training, first under Happousai and then on her own, fearing for her own life and her daughter's, and all the while wanting revenge for what they'd done to her, had pushed her hard. It was the pressure of the Saffron fight, multiplied a hundredfold, and rarely letting up. What it had forged was a sight to behold, as Ranma moved with a speed and precision that awed everyone, even Hild. Perfume backpedaled quickly, barely deflecting most of the blocks and barely dodging all the rest.

Ranma was growing annoyed. It was like - no, not like, it was - as if her own attacks were moving the Amazon's arms and legs away. She stopped, settling into a casual slouch. If the Matriarch's plan was to tire her out, then she'd force her to drop this silliness. Any technique that pushed the two apart like the north ends of two magnets would hamper the user's own attacks along with their opponent's.

She quickly revised that opinion when the Matriarch formed two short chi blades extending slightly from her hands - a really impressive feat, that - and attacked. Sure, she couldn't touch Ranma with her hands, but apparently, she wouldn't need to. Ranma fired off a Moko Takabisha, only to have it slapped away. That didn't surprise her; Cologne had learned that trick, too.

Then Perfume attacked, and it was Ranma's turn to back up. The deflection trick was annoying, the chi-blades a wholly unwelcome addition to that. Konatsu had smoked out the generalities of her form - nothing Ranma couldn't handle - but the last thing she needed was something unexpected and dangerous. She'd need to smoke out any more techniques.

Ranma's aura dropped from raging to indetectable in a minute, then, despite Perfume's best efforts, she lost track of the cursed martial artist herself. She allowed a brief moment to appreciate the technique, the dreaded Umisenken, and then flared her aura even brighter, detecting Ranma by the shadow cast in her aura by the martial artist. "Did you think we would never devise a counter to that?" she said arrogantly.

"No, but now I know," Ranma said, the insufferable smile still there. The Matriarch's aura surged, seemed to grow heavy, wanting to crush her down, pushing her backwards; then the elderly woman surged in with her chi blades.

At the last moment Ranma whipped her hands out, each of them cracking loudly before pushing Perfume's hands up and away. The Amazon elder looked at the hands holding her wrists in surprise. "But how? The Amaguriken-"

"-isn't fast enough to beat your little trick with the air. Didn't you think about it when you flared your aura? I could see how you bent and compressed your chi around your body. No, the Amaguriken can't defeat that." Ranma smiled, now knowing victory was at hand. "Cologne would have known better. She'd have expected me to do the impossible. Relying on this trick to beat me? You are no Cologne. You are only a disappointment." The smile grew apologetic. "Don't worry. You'll never see it coming."

The next thing anyone heard was a sound like gunfire, as swirls of cloud erupted behind Ranma's limbs. Flashes of light could be seen within the hazy veils. It was over in a heartbeat, a dazed Perfume held in Ranma's grip. Smoke was rising off Ranma's sleeves, as the blackened silk still glowed at the extremities, and her arms and legs had a raw redness to them as if they'd been burned. She picked up Perfume's staff with her free hand loosely, then kicked through it with a resounding crack.

"End it," Perfume said, glaring at Ranma.

"As I said, you're no Cologne," Ranma replied neutrally, and then, violently, slammed the elder Amazon over her knee with a crunch, earning a wince from the onlooking fighters. She dropped her on the ground. "Take her away."

* * *

Chiyeko was of two minds. First, she was nervous; she was pretty sure she couldn't match up well against Shampoo. Second, she was pissed.

Her father hadn't ever even hinted at anything like that last trick.

"And what the hell was that?" she asked the redhead as she came back.

"Atasuke, bandages and burn stuff, now," Ranma told the boy, ignoring her daughter for the moment. The exposed skin was already starting to blister, and Ranma listened to no one until the soothing gel was applied to her skin. Then, and only then, did she bother talking to anyone else. "My father isn't the only one to invent a dangerous school of martial arts. Mine is more dangerous - a way of the desperate assassin, rather than any sort of mere thief. Raisenken. Very fast. Too fast; it burns you badly. And-"

"And?" Ryoga asked, very interested in Ranma's newest crazy technique.

She held up her hands in response. Each trembled violently as Atasuke wrapped long bandages around them. "It does a real number on your muscles, too." Ranma looked at her daughter. "I'd have taught it to you, if I had the problems ironed out. I don't, not yet."

"Are you coming to fight, or will you forfeit in favor of Ranma?" Shampoo called out loudly.

"I'm coming!" Chiyeko said, but was halted by Ranma's arm.

"Two things."

"Yes?"

"First, buy me time. I need to recover from this," Ranma told her, blue eye gazing seriously at her. Then it softened. "Second, good luck. I believe in you. Go beat up Shampoo!"

She smiled, heading out to her opponent with more confidence.

"You don't really think she'll win, do you, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked nervously.

Ryoga agreed. "Shampoo hasn't been out here watching the grass grow. She's much stronger."

"Chiyeko's stronger than I was at that age," Ranma argued back. "And she has special techniques of her own," she added, casting a hopeful look at Hild.

Hild shook her head in annoyance, getting a frown from Ranma. What the hell had she taught Chiyeko, then? Then the mother of his child pointed up, at the storm still building above them, and mouthed 'bad idea' to him. Magic was a bad idea right now? Why? The frown deepened.

* * *

They nodded to each other. There was no fear, only understanding. Shampoo was mentally comparing the girl in front of her to her two children. Older, of course, but strong, very strong; even stronger than her Airen had been at this age. After all this time, and children of her own, she couldn't really hate this girl. Still, she was going to have to beat the daylights out of her, and fast; every second was another one closer to Ranma recovering from that terrifying technique she'd unleashed. She had no chance of stopping that, if Saotome recovered enough to use it again. Perfume's sacrifice must not be in vain.

Not that Perfume had intended to be a sacrifice; it was just her backup plan. One Shampoo was very happy to see necessary, now that the person who'd ordered her children to be kidnapped had been beaten to a pulp and crippled. After this was over - yes. Payback was in order.

But she'd need to get through Ranma first. And before that, even, this girl.

Chiyeko was calm, too. Win or lose, she had confidence, the confidence that she was strong enough to ensure her father recovered fully from what she _fully intended_ to learn someday. She'd rather win, though. As a demoness she didn't worry about lasting injury, but it was only the 'lasting' part that was beyond her fears. If she could help it, she didn't want to be unconscious when her father won.

"We start?" Shampoo asked politely, giving Chiyeko a short bow.

Chiyeko bowed back, her grandmother's insistence on manners coming back to her. "You'd better hope it isn't going to rain," she said impishly. 'Especially since I have no idea what these weird clouds could do to people.'

"Ranma was too smart to teach you catfist, I see," Shampoo said agreeably. "Begin now?"

"Yes."

The beginning was simple, and entirely defensive on Chiyeko's part. Delaying was even more important to her than trying to win. From Shampoo's face, she knew it, too.

Shampoo threw her bonbori to the side, shedding the weight for more speed, and touched the ground lightly, causing it to explode in a shower of dirt. Then she seemed to split, multiple Shampoos swirling around the younger girl.

Chiyeko Saotome glanced at the gathering storm and frowned. Magic would make things so much easier. "Kijin-Gun Dan Raibu!" she called out, warning people of what was to come, as she spun around quickly and fired off vacuum blades in all directions. The whirling horde of Shampoos easily dodged around the mostly-unaimed projectiles, but it bought Chiyeko just enough time to produce a large silk sheet and whip it over her, obscuring her from view.

It fluttered to the ground, with the youngest Saotome no longer visible.

Shampoo continued to hold the Splitting Cat's Hairs warily, looking carefully for the missing girl. Time passed and stretched into a minute, and she dropped the technique, unwilling to waste energy. "Saotome Final Technique is not allowed!" she yelled out angrily, stamping her foot on the discarded silk sheet. "Show yourself!"

The last thing Shampoo expected was for a hand to grab her ankle and pull her straight into the ground. Chiyeko burst out of the ground behind her, coated in dirt and grime, with a long cord uncoiling. "Kinshi Kinbaku Sho!" she cried out,Whipping the cord into a quick knot aroun the top of her silk sheet, tying Shampoo in the sheet. She slipped her feet under the handles of Shampoo's bonbori and flipped them up, catching them easily, and swung the oversize maces at the trapped Amazon.

Ranma and her team clapped from the sideline. "Good going, Chiyeko!"

Sensing the blow, Shampoo rolled back, was clipped by her on bonbori, and stumbled. Then she pulled out her backup weapon, her trusty sword, and stabbed through the bag, nearly skewering Chiyeko in the process. The older woman quickly tore apart the silk sheet, looking annoyed and slightly embarassed. "Play-time is over," she announced, and pressed home a more determined assault.

Chiyeko dropped the two bonbori for her more familiar unarmed style and managed to capture Shampoo's sword on the second strike, flipping it aside. Unfortunately, Shampoo had planned on that and was already moving inside her guard.

One quick flurry of punches at a speed and strength she couldn't handle and Chiyeko was out like a light.

* * *

Atasuke and Hild accompanied Ranma out this time. Ranma looked down at his unconscious daughter as the other two picked her up carefully. Seeing the murderous look on Hild's face, Ranma decided to act quickly and prevent a major scene. "Ahh, Chiyeko will be alright, Hild, it's not like she's seriously injured," she said.

Hild shot her a frightening look as well, but then visibly subsided. "If you say so," Hild said, in a voice that was a bit too nice and sweet for the moment. Ranma shuddered, and Shampoo wondered for the third time about Hild.

She shook her head, dismissing that. She could afford no distractions in the coming fight. At least Ranma was still suffering the effects of that insane speed jutsu she'd used earlier. There was still a tremble in her muscles, and her chi seemed much lower than it had been. Shampoo stood and smiled. "Wo da Airen," she told him, for the last time.

"It's fitting that the last Amazon I fight is also the first Amazon I fought," Ranma said by way of reply.

"This isn't the right place for us to fight," she told him, smiling. "Come!" With that, she set off out of the impromptu arena the clearing had become, and ran back towards Joketsuzoku.

Shrugging, Ranma turned to his team and his allies. "I've got a feeling I know where she's going. Bring Chiyeko and follow us." Then he took off after the purple-haired woman.

The Nerima crew looked uncomfortable as they entered the village. "This is not the greatest place to be," Konatsu said, shifting painfully. He was good enough to fight... barely, and not against the first team. He had a terrible feeling it was going to be necessary after all.

"You're telling me," Ryoga said, his head still ringing. "Prime territory for an ambush."

"Let 'em come," Taro said, his voice betraying pent-up aggression and boredom. "I want a fight." His fingers twitched towards his canteen.

Sure enough, she lead them right back to the old challenge log, jumping on top of it gracefully. Ranma jumped up on it as well. "Brings back some old memories."

"That it does," Shampoo responded, and stepped closer. "I want to take my Kisses of Marriage and Death back," she said impishly, "and make the end the same as the beginning."

Ranma sweated, and glanced over to Hild, who shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The first kiss was a quick peck on the lips, but when she planted the second, she whispered, "They kidnapped my children. They're holding them hostage."

"Where?" Ranma whispered back, unwilling to have a longer conversation.

Shampoo glanced towards one of the larger huts as she stepped back.

"I see," Ranma said, nodding thoughtfully. The end being the same as the beginning, huh? Now what did she intend by that?

The two bowed, then struck, Amazon wushu and Anything-Goes kempo flowing back and forth easily on the challenge log. It was easy, almost casual sparring, something not lost on either of them, or on many of the onlookers.

* * *

One of them was the now-crippled Perfume. She motioned one of her loyalists closer while the spectacle on the log distracted them. "The perfect time to strike will come soon. Shampoo will do as required. When it is finished..."

"Yes, Matriarch?" the other warrior answered.

"Finish them both - Saotome and his friends, Shampoo and hers among the villagers."

"But Matriarch-"

"Shampoo will seek vengeance someday for what we have done. Best to end everything today."

* * *

Ranma was still thinking about Shampoo's request. Old friend or not, she had absolutely no compunctions about beating the crap out of her Amazon 'former wife' to end their harassment at the hands of the Amazons and their looney laws. On the other hand...

On the other hand, as a parent herself, she knew just how far she'd go to protect her children. That some of the Amazons would go so far as to threaten Shampoo's children to force her to fight her first love was a new low, even for them. Did Shampoo want her to help? Or did she just want her to think she wanted help, so that it would screw her over at the wrong time?

Then Ranma faltered. "What the-" Her chi was ebbing, sputtering really, and totally out of her control.

"I'm so sorry, Airen," she said apologetically, tears tracking her face. "Poisoned lipstick. For my children..."

"...you'll do anything. I know the feeling myself." Ranma glared at her. No chi techniques? No problem. "You really should have left it strictly to martial arts, Shampoo." She reached up and ripped loose her eyepatch, revealing a smooth, round ruby sphere that replaced the eye. Her scarred eyelid blinked over it a few times. "You should have - because I'll do anything for my child, too. And Chiyeko will not lose a father today."

"What is that?" she shouted.

"Why should I tell you?" Ranma replied flippantly. She'd been avoiding using this little toy before; it still felt too much like cheap power to her. Now, though, she activated it with a mental command as Hild had taught her once more, and information surged in - where everyone was, who they were.

And, everywhere, the things normally hidden: the pathways of chi through the body. The weak points in the bones, the injuries the opponent hid. Even the breaking points of body parts, as Cologne had discovered, too late.

Shampoo trembled, then attacked anyways; with her childrens' lives at stake, there was nothing to do but go on. Still, when Ranma's block broke her arm, she backed up at once, clutching the now useless appendage. Her bonbori rolled off the log onto the ground with a clatter. The skies opened up around the village, the village itself strangely free of rain, as the building storm was finally unleashed.

"Give up," Ranma demanded. "I'll save your children."

She trembled, then nodded.

* * *

"Now," Perfume said, feeling the sweet joy of vengeance and the heady pain-numbing sensation of the opium mixing in her. "Kill them now!"

* * *

The arrows came in bunches, suddenly, and well aimed. Ranma scooped Shampoo up and dropped behind the log, out of the way of fire. Taro, Ryoga, and Ukyo protected those near them as best they could, although Ukyo took an arrow to the leg and dropped to the ground with a brief scream.

Several arrows shot towards Chiyeko, the dangerous ones caught expertly by Atasuke. The last one he caught in his gut, positioning himself so it wouldn't hit anything vital. Hopefully he wouldn't bleed out, and the arrows weren't poisoned. If not, he thought as he collapsed painfully, at least he was probably perverted enough to see her in the next life.

He rolled over as best he could to protect Chiyeko, ignoring the arrow stuck in her leg. Wasn't her mother the Daimakochou? Shouldn't she be doing something, he wondered, as he passed out.

It was only half a second later that the earthquake began.

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, long chapter, huh? There's only a bit more to go. Hopefully, very soon. I noticed FFnet added some weird ASCII spam to the beginning of this chapter, hence the resubmit - sorry if this causes double-posts for those of you who have story alert. My apologies!


	20. Chapter 20

FATE

A Ranma1/2 fanfic by PansutoTarou5925

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Ranma ½ is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, Viz, and other parties; I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it. Oh! My Goddess belongs to Kosuke Fujishima, Studio Proteus, Dark Horse, and other parties, and I make no claims of ownership of any of the intellectual or other properties pertaining to it, either.

* * *

Ranma thought back to the private little conversation she'd had with Hild the previous night. It wasn't hard - hell, her whole life was flashing before her eyes, and she wasn't even one of the ones about to die. The whole earthquake-and-frightening-red-glow thing Hild was doing was probably giving everyone within twenty miles the scare of their lives. At least Hild's light show seemed to be holding the rain at a distance...

_Hild and she had retired to their tent, to discuss a few more details of their plan, and also because Ranma was bored and wanted to find out what was in the box the goddesses had given them back in Nekomi._

_A hand mirror, bottled water, and a video iPod were not what she was expecting. Chiyeko might like the iPod though. She'd have to ask if they could keep it._

_"You know, I'm certain there's a story behind these," Ranma said, closing the box. "and I'm sure you know what it is, but I think I want it to be a surprise."_

_"Oh?"_

_"I'd like something to be a surprise tomorrow," Ranma said, flopping back on their sleeping bag. She idly poked at mosquitos with tiny needles of ki, using the magical eye Hild had given her to make them explode as if hit by insect-scale antiaircraft fire. "Their surprise attack certainly won't be."_

_"Are you having fun with that?"_

_"Boys and toys, you know that," Ranma said, smirking._

_"I brought some toys, too, if you want to play with them," Hild said playfully, causing Ranma to freeze uncomfortably. "But you seem fine enough with the one I gave you. So, you're expecting the Amazons to attack?"_

_"I'm hoping the Amazons attack," Ranma clarified._

_"I thought this little tournament wasn't revenge enough for you."_

_Ranma's smirk returned in full force. "That's why I'm hoping they're dumb enough to try to kill me."_

Well, Ranma thought, mission accomplished. Undoubtedly they'd hoped to take her out with one blow and figured that the Musk and Saffron would simply wash their hands of the whole situation and walk away, as she was the only thing out of Nerima they feared. Right?

Wrong. They were getting an education in how wrong from Hild at the moment. Ranma ignored the danger to her friends and her daughter at the moment with a bit of mental effort. Hild could handle that on her own. Right now she needed to blast a path through to Shampoo's kids.

A finger reached out as she landed and lightly flicked the head of an Amazon. It exploded like an overripe pumpkin, splattering Shampoo with gore. She held her ex-fiancee over her shoulder, using her as a kind of shield as she moved through the crowd, twisting and leaping to throw off the aim of any ranged attacks.

Close up was not a problem. Having already seen she could kill or cripple at the lightest touch, her enemies seemed sensibly unwilling to crowd her. Most were fleeing the area as fast as they could, piling up into a mass where the rain vied with Hild's vast aura. She was curious why the rain would stop them, but her blood ran cold as she saw a few unfortunates in the rain, their bodies changing constantly and randomly in the rain. Each new curse washed over the body and was replaced even before they fully changed, so that the features of animals seemed to melt down their bodies in an ever-mutating horror. Bile rose up in her throat at the sight; as bad as Jusenkyo had been before, this unnatural storm was even worse.

Ranma adjusted Shampoo slightly. She still was a bit worn from the previous use, but Shampoo would take most of the damage this time. One quick, overwhelming burst of chi later, and the two burst through the intervening distance with a bang.

They crashed into and through the window of the hut Shampoo had indicated, Shampoo's body flying like a missile to the back. She rolled limply to a stop, her back a mess from air resistance and then the glass of the window, but Ranma hardly needed her help. The guards were more interested in the theatrics outside than in threatening the children, and the split second they spent looking at Shampoo was all the time they needed to miss the real threat.

A few quick taps later and the inside of the hut was gorily redecorated, the mangled bodies of the loyalists torn apart from Ranma's terrible mastery of the breaking point. The two children looked at her in terror, their eyes stealing back to their mother from time to time.

Shampoo struggled back to her feet, her broken arm dangling. "You have someplace safe to take them?" Ranma asked, not really wanting to stay away from her friends a second longer than she had to.

The Amazon nodded. "Yes, but I cannot get them there by myself," she said, indicating her hand. "Take them to the house with the green-tiled roof and hide them there. I will rally the Amazons who did not support Perfume." She winced.

"Good to know," Ranma said, and stepped towards the two children. They were young, half the age of her own daughter, and shrank from her in fear. "C'mon, kids, I've got to get you to safety."

"Go with Ranma," Shampoo said, rifling through drawers for more intact clothes. "I will be back to get you as soon as possible!"

Prodded by their mother, the children warily walked over to Ranma, who picked them up. "We'll do this fast," she told them. "Ever hopped rooftops before?"

* * *

The unworthy ground of the Amazon village would have to do for the throne of the Daimakochou at the moment, Hild decided, as she leaned back on her newly-formed seat. Some particularly brave or foolish warriors had attacked her, and were now dead, struck down by lightning. That had stopped, now; none dared approach her, though the Jusenkyo-sent storm prevented them from truly getting away as well.

Her initial white-hot rage had simmered down into a cooler, more deliberate level of hatred. There was a certain joy to be had in savoring the terror of an opponent who had picked a fight without so much as suspecting the depth of troubles in which they'd enmeshed themselves. So Hild would smile, point a finger, and a lance of fire would burst from the heavens into one of the knots of warriors trying to oppose the raging monster that was Taro. Then she would look around casually, pick out one of the other fights raging, and give a little assitance to Ryoga or Saffron.

The village was beginning to burn nicely now, streamers of smoke twisting in the wind as the fires licked outwards from the smashed ruins of collapsed huts. That was the part of battle that spoke to Hild's soul: not the thrill of the fight, but the burning, and the screaming. It reminded her of... home.

A presence flickered into her perception, as a star-print cloth slid down, revealing Ranma. "Having fun?" Ranma asked, her voice trembling slightly - whether from releasing long-suppressed rage in an orgy of destruction, or just pushing herself with her new technique, who knew?

"Quite," Hild answered, her eyes still cold. Between Saffron, Herb, Taro, and herself, was there any real danger of losing? The fight was already starting to wind down, as knots of warriors surrendered.

"Don't kill Shampoo's supporters," Ranma ordered. Hild shot him an angry glance, causing her to shrug. "It's complicated." She looked at the group defending the crippled Perfume, and nodded slightly. "I'm going to finish this."

Hild grabbed Ranma's shoulder. "I want Perfume." The mortal woman frowned cutely and opened her mouth to object, but Hild put one finger on her lips. "Just let me have her. I like handling some people personally."

Ranma nodded. "Fine."

"Arrange these in a triangle and call for the Norns when you're ready," Hild said, pushing the box of apparently random items to Ranma.

The box disappeared into Ranma's sleeve. "I guess they're waiting, huh?" Not that heaven or hell really made much sense to her, really, and she'd known Hild for years. She shoved that aside. What mattered was what she'd get - and that she'd get to rub it in the Amazons' faces. That thought lifted some of the fatigue she felt. A flick of the cloth and she faded from view again, the only hint of her position the motion she'd started making towards her daughter.

A few seconds later, the Amazons in that direction began collapsing from an unseen killer. It wasn't even remotely fair, but this was war, not the martial arts.

Nodding to herself as the warriors broke in a terrified panic from Ranma's invisible assault, Hild herself stood up and walked casually towards the downed Amazon leader. The Amazons defending her grimly readied their weapons and stepped forward. All the Daimakochou did in response was reach up and pull off one of the numerous limiters she wore, and laugh as the sudden surge of power scattered foe and ally alike. With a short burst of will and a precisely sung chord, a glowing red circle appeared in the ground, seperating herself and her prey from any defenders.

"If I remember correctly," Hild said, her voice echoing through the village despite its conversational tone, "you have this quaint custom called the kiss of death." She smiled at Perfume, her eyes glinting red as she strolled slowly forward. The elderly matriarch scooted backwards as best she could, despite her injuries. "When an Amazon woman is shamed by losing to an outsider woman, she kisses her on the cheek and pursues her to the ends of the earth."

Two of Perfume's guards looked at each other, nodded, and lunged towards the Daimakochou. The second they hit Hild's barrier, they were ignited, and collapsed, dead before they hit the ground.

Both were ignored utterly by Hild. "I've defeated and shamed your whole village," she said, still calmly, as she stepped on Perfume's robe, stopping her retreat. "I imagine you must hate me. Don't you?" With one hand, she reached down, grabbed Perfume's neck, and pulled her up. "Go ahead. Give us a kiss."

Perfume took one look at Hild's face - a demented smile, like a psychopathic child who got fire for Christmas - and flinched away.

"Come on, Perfume," Hild taunted. "You're one of mine either way. You do know who I am, don't you?"

"Noooo!" the elderly woman shrieked, her hands shooting out to strike Hild. Before they connected, there was a loud crack, and she fell as limp as a puppet with its strings cut.

"We'll finish this conversation later," Hild said in an amused tone, as the light faded from her eyes. She snapped her fingers and the barrier she'd made faded away. Her eyes fell on the other Amazons. "Now, as for the rest of you..."

They broke and ran into the storm, struggling to run as their bodies shifted and changed in the Jusenkyo-cursed rain, as Hild's laughter chased them away.

* * *

Ranma arranged the items in a triangle around herself. A homicidally angry Hild chasing someone who'd attempted to have her daughter killed was one of the scariest things imaginable, right up there with cats, and she didn't want to watch.

Besides, she just wanted to get this over with. Vengeance was all fine and fun to plan, but after seventeen years, actually destroying the village was something of an anticlimax. The iPod flickered to life as she stretched her arms up to the heavens and called out: "Ranma Saotome calls upon you, O Norns, to set right what fate has marred!"

The words were exact - she'd memorized them and thought them over ever since being told them by her... stepdaughter? Strange to think of a goddess that way-

Surfaces rippled and expanded, a bright light shone forth through rapidly expanding portals. Two hands came out of the distorted surface of the tiny electronic device, as Urd emerged from its screen. Belldandy gracefully floated upwards out of the mirror.

Skuld appeared in the sealed bottle, which exploded as she came through her portal. She turned on Ranma with an irate expression. "You're supposed to pour the water in a bowl first, dummy!" she yelled, completely ruining the dramatic moment.

"You should have told me," Ranma retorted, then immediately shook herself, not needing to get into a childish argument now. "Uh - if you don't mind -"

"Jusenkyo's spirit has come out, I see," Belldandy interrupted him.

"Active and spreading," Urd said, taking in the sky with a measured glance. "We should have been allowed to remove it millenia ago."

"You know why not," Belldandy admonished her.

Urd glanced at Ranma, then turned to look at Hild and Chiyeko as well. She sighed. "I suppose I do. You lead us, Bell."

The three goddesses linked hands and began to sing. Even with Hild's dreadful aura of anger, and in the midst of a small-scale war, a certain lightness touched the spirit, a feeling of peace where dread had been before. Then a literal light came - the storm began to break up.

Everyone stopped to listen and watch. Sheer magical power was evident to almost all, and even those without the slightest trace of magic in them knew how unearthly and perfect their singing was, and in no language they knew.

Even Hild stopped, if only to listen to Urd.

The singing continued until the skies had completely cleared. Then it stopped, and the only sound was the crackling of flames in the village. Ranma took a step forward and nearly tripped.

He hadn't even noticed when, exactly, he'd changed back -

"It is done," Belldandy said. "The magic of Jusenkyo is unmade." She took in the burning village and the bodies with her eyes. "But not its legacy."

Anything more was cut off when Ranma let out a loud whoop as the shock wore off. "I'm cured! A man again, at long last!" he yelled, exultant. His finger jabbed out, taking in the Amazons, and then turning into a spinning fist-pump that seemed to take in the whole world. "I never lose! I never lose! Never forget!"

* * *

"I'm thinking you should have said something different," Konatsu said. The day had ended, and the fight over; the Amazons had lost, and everyone was digesting the events of the day - especially the formerly Jusenkyo cursed.

"I'm thinking it's disturbing that a man would wear a bikini like that," Ranma pointed out, and splashed his ninja friend. He wasn't expecting Shampoo to have a swimming pool, or that they'd be welcome to stay at her place (or the remains thereof) but then again, he was a martial artist whose girlfriend ruled hell who'd come to fight Chinese Amazons over turning him into a girl, so he couldn't say his life had ever made a whit of sense.. "So, what should I have said?"

"How about 'I am the Prince of all Saiyajins once again!'" Ryoga suggested, getting a laugh from most of those present.

"I don't get it," Shampoo said, being the only one who'd never seen the show.

"It's appropriate to Ranma, except that Vegita didn't have multiple fiancees," Ryoga explained. "Mostly appropriate. Ranma can't blow up the planet."

"Not yet, anyways," Konatsu said, nodding seriously. That got another round of laughter, with Shampoo joining in this time. "So, what are you going to do next?"

"Well, I've defeated a village full of highly trained warriors who wanted me dead. I feel I'm ready to propose to Hild." Ranma leaned back, relaxed in a way he hadn't been for years. Probably because it was his body, finally, even if he wasn't quite used to it after all that time. He looked up. "Hey, Herb! Jump in, the water's fine! Everything's fine!"

Well away from the pool, Chiyeko was sitting on the low wall surrounding Shampoo's house, looking at the sky. And yet, with all her training, he felt right - his aura was the same. It was very unsettling. She was so lost in thought that she barely noticed when Atasuke came up to her and sat next to her.

"I imagine it'll take a while to get used to Saotome-san looking like that," Atasuke said, mirroring her thoughts.

"Yes," she said. She felt tired now. So much had changed in the past few months...

"Can you imagine how bad it was for him, being in the wrong body for so long?" he went on. "He'll probably have to get used to it, too."

Chiyeko thought about that. How weird would it be to be stuck as a guy for years, and then finally change back to yourself. "Yeah..."

"Maybe you should talk to him, you know, cheer him up," Atasuke said, catching hold of her hand and guiding her off the wall. "Can't hide from him forever."

"I guess I can't," Chiyeko said, and smiled at Atasuke. "You know, for a pervert, sure think about people's feelings."

He smirked at the backhanded compliment. "And for a demoness, you're really nice," he replied playfully.

They both laughed as they returned to the party.

* * *

"Is that it?" Kasumi said.

Everyone had returned home. Ranma walked into the Tendo Dojo respectfully, Kasumi and Tofu following along, asking questions about the battle. Everyone was fine, no one had died - except Amazons - and the curses were cured.

Pantyhose was still sore about that, but he was outvoted.

He looked around. Third time. He'd arrived at the Tendo Dojo twice before and left not knowing if he'd ever return. Arrived as a girl when he was a teenager, left hunted by Amazons with an infant daughter. Arrived as a woman with her daughter, left not knowing if she'd die in China. Now he came as a man. Third time's the charm. "Not quite it," he said, scratching his head. "Hild and I will be getting married."

"Oh, finally!" Kasumi said, clapping. "Are you going to hold it here?"

Tofu gave her a look of dread.

"Thank you, Kasumi, but no thank you," Ranma said, almost laughing at Tofu's sigh of obvious relief. "I recall planning a wedding here before, and things didn't work out too well." They all shared a laugh. Distance had taken away all the pain of that day, and left only the ridiculousness of it all. "No, we'll do it in secret, so it won't get interrupted. No guests."

"I'll keep the news on, then," Tofu said. "Knowing you, an earthquake will strike, or something of that nature."

"Probably. Can you watch Chiyeko for a bit?"

"Certainly, Ranma," Kasumi said.

"Great! Just keep an eye on her - I think she's starting to return Atasuke's affections."

"I'm not ready to become a grandmother yet," Kasumi said, a steely glint to her eye. "I'll keep those two under control."

"Thank you!"

They headed back into the house, where the kids were playing video games. "Hey, Chiyeko!" Ranma called out.

"What?" she asked, bored, her attention still mostly on the screen.

"Hild and I will be gone for the next week. Don't cause any trouble for the Onos, all right?

"What?" she said, this time with more attention and incredulity. "We just got back from China!"

"I know, but this is important," Ranma said, then amended himself. "As important as China."

"More important," Hild said, and smacked him across the back of the head.

"We'll be back," Ranma finished. "Don't get in trouble, or your mother will punish you."

A few more minutes saying goodbye and they were outside, headed for the bridge under the canal and (therefore) a convenient place to teleport out. "So, where do you want to go?" Hild asked, her voice low and seductive.

"Someplace hot and dry. I may not be cursed anymore - and doesn't that feel good! - but I still don't like getting wet."

"You were in the pool," Hild noted.

"Pools are different. And besides, it made being cured real. Even Herb got in the pool after a while, as stuffy as he is."

"All right. I've got a place in mind. Ready?"

"Ready!"

With that, the world dissolved around him, and swirled chaotically seemingly _through_ him. He swayed violently as it ended, depositing them in a bright alleyway lit by a truly mind-boggling number of neon signs in the street beyond. Ranma stepped out, followed by Hild, and looked over the signs. "Las Vegas?" Ranma said, confused.

"Of course, Ranma, Sin City," Hild said, tracing on his arm with one hand. "So let's get married. You've got a lot of years to catch up on..."

* * *

[[Epilogue]]

"But mother," Sifu protested, "what good have we done? You're telling me that Ranma will join Hild in Nifelheim and lead the demons' forces at Vigrith."

"And that Chiyeko will be the new Daimakochou, after Ragnarok," Skuld added absently, as she helped Belldandy with her quilting.

"And he's redressed a millenia of wrongs by the Amazons, and had a part in undoing the curse of Jusenkyo," Urd reminded her, passing Belldandy scraps in between taking shots of sake. "You can't forget that."

"Well..." Sifu considered that, and weighed the destruction of Jusenkyo and the overturning of the Amazon laws against the last days. She still couldn't justify it. "You could have just told me. We shouldn't just let someone who'll help take down Yggdrasil join Hild."

"If not Ranma, someone else would," Skuld said, shaking a finger at her.

"Your aunt is right," Belldandy said, sewing carefully. "What Hild wants, she will seek, and she has all eternity to find it. If we stopped Ranma, things would have happened differently, and who can tell what would have happened? Heaven would not chance it, and so fate has us all - what we would do, not what we could do. The Ultimate Force is all, and no one will escape their doom."

"But then why does Hild even bother?" Sifu complained.

"Hild believes - the demons believe - that if only they want enough, the Ultimate Force will act for them." Belldandy paused, and let Sifu think about that, about Hild finding Ranma, and her dream of having a daughter loyal to herself fulfilled.

Sifu saw it. "Are they right?" she asked, worried. She remembered Ranma, vividly, telling the whole world that in the end he never lost, and with every bit of conviction. It worried her. But her mother and aunts just looked at her expectantly. "They're _not_ right, are they? But you just said that fate-"

"When you understand, you'll be ready to be a goddess second-class," Belldandy said, laughing. "Don't worry about it now. Just keep up with your studies."

* * *

Author's Note: IT IS FINISHED. Finally. Now I can work on another one...


End file.
